Compilation of Hinny Works
by LegendDairy
Summary: I've got too many Hinny one-shots, and there are more coming. So they are all going to be posted here instead of individual stories. And Harry/Ginny pairings only, no others. Will be updated sporadically.
1. Challenges

**AN- I've had a series of fic challenge prompts over the past few months, and it has turned into far too many separate stories. From now on any one-shot's that are Hinny specific will be posted here to the Compilation of Hinny One-Shot's.**

**Based on the group the prompt's come from (and the way my mind goes automatically to the gutter), they will be racy. You've been warned.**

**And... I don't own Harry Potter (Disclaimer, gotta have that)**

**Prompt- Harry and Ginny have some sort of challenges. **

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**Summer 1994**

Harry crept carefully around the bush at the edge of the garden. The rustling coming from inside could only be one thing. Well... one type of thing anyways. There could be many of those things in there causing all of the rustling.

Getting tasked with flinging Garden Gnomes out of the garden was one of the more fun chores there was to do around the Burrow.

Ron, Fred and George always groaned when given chores. As though they thought that one day there would suddenly be no more to do around this fabulous farm house.

Doing this as compared to weeding, or mowing, or really anything that he had been tasked with for his month on Privet Drive he considered great fun.

He crouched down to try and see under the thicket to find the pesky little buggers.

Quick as a whip he reached in between the tiny branches and came out with the little potato looking creature.

"Gerroff!" It yelled while squirming in his hand.

The first summer he was tasked with this he'd felt bad for the things. He was still unsure what to classify them as. They weren't animals really as they were capable of speech. Maybe just 'beings' is the right term?

He grabbed hold of the being's leg and swung it around three times before flinging it out beyond the fence.

"Very nicely done." Came a female voice behind him.

He turned around, startled. He hadn't heard her approach.

Ginny had become much more relaxed around him lately. They didn't interact much at school, and even last summer she'd been quick to blush and stutter in his presence. It was embarrassing for him as well as her. It was a relief now that she'd seemed to have gotten over her crush, and to have moved past the whole 'Boy-Who-Lived' thing.

Honestly.

He was just Harry.

"How'd you get saddled with doing this by yourself?" She had a hand over her eyebrows to block out the sun while she looked out in the direction the Gnome had gone.

"Your brothers aren't too keen on this particular task." He smiled. "They went into the orchard to collect fruit."

She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Bet that means I'm stuck indoors making jam and such tomorrow, while you lot are playing Quidditch." She pouted a bit. "So unfair."

He hadn't really thought about it before. But she did get stuck doing the chores that were deemed 'feminine' by most society; Laundry, cooking, general pick up around the inside of the house.

"Do you play Quidditch?" He asked quizzically. He didn't remember her ever coming out and flying with him and her brothers. He didn't even know if she could fly. But he vaguely recalled her being thoroughly invested in the outcome of the World Cup game last week.

"I've never been 'allowed'." She made air quotes with her fingers. "I do know how to fly though. Probably better than my idiot brothers, but it isn't like they'd give me a chance to prove it."

"Why not?" Harry couldn't think of a reason for them dis-allowing her on a broom, or to play with them. All three Chasers on the Gryffindor team were girls, and they were brilliant.

"Because I'm delicate." She mocked a curtsy. "You want some help with these guys?" She gestured with her thumb at the bush, which was still rustling.

"Sure." He smiled. "Hey, if you can fling yours farther than mine, I'll let you take a turn on my Firebolt." He waggled his eyebrows in challenge.

She gave pause for a moment with an awed expression on her face before she cocked an eyebrow at him. "You do realize I've been doing this my whole life. And you, my mere mortal, have next to no experience in comparison."

"Sounds like you're accepting my challenge." Harry grinned.

"You're on." She stuck out her hand and they shook on it.

Hers went at least ten yards farther than his.

**Summer 1995**

Harry was in such a mood.

It was understandable with everything that was going on in his life; secrets being kept from him, Tom was back, and his whole deal with the Ministry after the Dementor attack.

But having to work alongside him cleaning this place up was irritating. She'd rather he just go off and sulk in his bed or something.

Ginny knew he'd preferred getting paired with her to do their cleaning because he was angry with Ron and Hermione for not disobeying Dumbledore's orders and sending him an Owl about what was going on with the Order of Phoenix. But now she needed to suffer through his moping.

And my God, was his brooding ever making the place even more depressing.

There was just this dark cloud over his head, and it made everyone on edge.

Except for her. It made her angry.

She wasn't allowed to know anything that was going on with the Order either. Or Voldemort, and really, she had more experience with him than most other people there. It was like everyone had forgotten.

Ginny shook her head at that. She was positive everyone remembered. They just never talked about it for her sake, which she was grateful for, because she didn't want to talk about it either.

Another huff came from the opposite corner of the room.

"Quit it!" She snarled.

Harry turned around from his task of clearing artifacts from a bookshelf, which he was doing as slow as humanly possible, with a look of surprise on his face that quickly seeped back into one of brooding anger. "Quit what? I'm just clearing these shelves. As ordered." He added, holding up two books as 'proof'.

"Yeah, well I was 'ordered' to do this too. And I'm stuck with you being all mopey when I could have been doing this with Hermione, or the twins. At least they would have talked or joked instead of sighing every minute." She complained.

"Look, you don't get it-"

"Shut up Harry. Don't start telling me I don't understand." She cut him off. "Even if I didn't initially understand why you're going around being a pain in the ass, you've bitched enough about it that everyone knows you're so hard done by." She dramatized the ending.

They stood on opposite sides of the room in a stare down stand off for a minute, each waiting for the other to dare to say something.

To her surprise his whole demeanor started cracking and a smile found its way onto his face. "Thanks." He told her.

"Thanks for what? Telling you off?" She was confused.

"Yeah." He admitted. "Guess I kind of needed that."

"Well good." She nodded once and crossed her arms, relaxing her stance a little. "Are you going to be a little more pleasant now?"

He thought a moment, his smile dropping a bit. "I'm still pretty mad. But it's nothing to do with anything you did, so I guess I shouldn't make you suffer."

She rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

"Hey. Remember our little chore challenge from last summer? Flinging the gnomes?"

She gave him a curious look. "Yeah."

"Want to do that again? Different chore, different stakes."

"What do you have in mind?" She looked around at what had to get done to see if there was any way to make a game of what was left.

"Err." he looked around too.

Ginny had to suppress a snicker. Clearly he was just trying to make up for being annoying and miserable, without any forethought on how that should have played out.

"Well. We each have a full bookshelf on our sides that needs to be boxed up. Maybe the first one done wins?" He offered.

"Wins what?" She challenged. The idea was pretty lame, but she didn't have any better ones to offer up.

"Err." He looked around again, then seemed to give up. "You come up with the winnings."

She chewed her lip and stared at him while she thought it over. What she truly wanted from him she could absolutely never ask for. And besides, if she did ask for it, she'd still have to come up with something else for him if he won. Which he probably would for this task, since he was much taller than her and would have no problems reaching the top shelf.

"The loser has to give the winner their dessert?" She decided lamely.

"Um." There was this little upside down 'v' that formed just between his eyebrows. "You know if I gave you my dessert your mum would just refill my plate."

Her shoulders sagged. "Okay. So... loser has to..." A light bulb went off in her head. "Prank the twins."

"What." His face went blank.

"Yeah. Loser has to prank the twins." She said excitedly.

"Prank how?" He looked thoroughly confused.

Ginny shook her head. "Doesn't matter." She went on. "Every attempt to get them in a prank results in them retaliating ten times worse." She giggled.

She watched his expression with anticipation as he thought it over. Satisfied when he grinned and nodded.

They each grabbed a fresh box and placed it two feet in front of their bookshelves.

"Alright. On the count of three." He said.

"Three."

"Two."

"One!" They shouted together and started whipping items into their boxes.

The next day Ginny came down to breakfast sporting a spectacular shade of blue hair and hiccupping every time someone said her name. She didn't mind though. It made Harry smile every time he looked over at her.

**Summer 1996**

Harry was just putting his breakfast plate in the sink when Ginny came down the stairs.

"Hey." She smiled sleepily at him as she crossed the kitchen to grab a glass of pumpkin juice and a plate of food.

"Hey." He smiled. She was so cute first thing in the morning with her hair piled high on her head, and her slightly baggy shirts nearly hanging down past her high cut sleep shorts.

Not cute. He thought to himself. Just... Ginny. She was a nice sight in the morning.

"Where's mum?" She asked as she spooned some eggs onto her plate.

"Erm. I think she went out to the garden?" He guessed. Mrs. Weasley had been in the kitchen when he'd arrived, but disappeared before he'd finished his breakfast.

"Any word on whether we'll be flinging gnomes again today? Or will you just let me give your Firebolt another go out of the goodness of your heart?" She teased taking her seat at the table.

He grinned at her.

She'd really done well filling in for him on the Quidditch team last year when he'd been banned. There was no doubt in his mind that she'd make the team this year too. Hopefully not beating him out for the Seeker position. It would be rather awkward for the Captain to not be good enough to maintain his own position.

"I think we took care of them pretty well yesterday." He laughed.

"Well then, how's your heart feeling?" She met his eyes speculatively. "Plenty of goodness in there?" Her lip was twitching as she fought to suppress her smile in favor of a concerned pout.

"How about I race you for the opportunity to give it another go?" He challenged lightly.

"What? Like laps from the back door to the broom shed or something?" She questioned.

"No. I say we both grab the same Cleansweep model from the shed and race each other around the pitch there ten times. Fastest flier gets to use my Firebolt for the game we're going to play this afternoon."

He felt a little swooping sensation as he watched her eyes light up with excitement.

"Done." She stated and quickly shoveled her food into her mouth, quite resembling her closest brother in that moment.

Harry laughed at her eagerness. "I'll just go and get changed and meet you at the pitch."

She nodded once before downing the rest of her pumpkin juice to wash down the food still in her mouth. It amazed him how all the Weasley's had this ability to just inhale their food. Initially he'd thought it was just a skill that Ron had, but really every one of them could clear their plate in record time without getting sick, or gagging.

Ginny at least took appropriate portion sizes.

She was right behind him on his way up the stairs to get dressed and peeled off at her room.

Harry changed quickly into his jeans and t-shirt, then slipping on his trainers before racing back downstairs and nearly knocking Ginny down the last flight as she darted out of her room and into his path.

They both let out a squeak of surprise as they collided. His one hand went to the railing, and the other snaked around her waist in an instinctive attempt to right them both.

Her one hand came down hard on top of his on the railing, and the other fisted in the front of his shirt.

They teetered for only a moment before standing stock still with both feet planted firmly. Her eyes were wide, and mouth slightly parted from the surprise. No doubt an expression mirroring his own. They stood that way for a few breaths before grinning at each other and laughing silently about their narrow miss of flying down the stairs.

She was the first to let go and nudge him to continue down the stairs ahead of her. He felt a surprising reluctance to remove his arm from around her but shook off the feeling and tread down the stairs.

"Here you go." Ginny opened the broom shed door and handed him the Cleansweep Seven and taking one for herself. Leaving his shiny Firebolt in the shed. Actually, it wasn't that shiny. It really needed a going over with his polishing kit.

"How about the loser has to clean up the Firebolt too?" Ginny peered at it speculatively, as if reading his mind.

"Err." He felt a small blush come to his face. "Yeah. I'm game for that."

She turned to him and gave a look from him to the broom in his hand and back again. "Did you want a practice lap first? I don't think you have much experience with this model."

He was taken aback at that. "I don't need a practice lap." Harry found he was kind of offended with the idea of his needing a practice lap, when she was so clearly ready for a go then and there.

The smug expression that flickered across her face had him second guessing his jerk reaction.

As it turned out, she'd been right to feel smug about him being too proud to practice on the Cleansweep. He really hadn't had much experience with older brooms. He'd had no idea how much drag there was, nor was he prepared for the amount of pull to one side or the other he'd have to continuously counter. The lag on the turns was another thing he wasn't anticipating.

Meanwhile she'd shot around and finished her tenth lap just as he was getting into his ninth.

They drew up beside one another in the air. "Awe, poor Captain Potter. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone you can't handle a Cleansweep." She mocked him with a brilliant smile on her face.

"Hey! I can too handle it!" He retaliated. "I guess I really should have taken you up on that first lap though." He relented, looking down at the broom he was on with reticence. By his third lap he had been getting a better hang of what do to make the broom heed his wishes.

"Eh." She shrugged. "You're used to a broom that does all the heavy lifting for you. I get it. That Firebolt flies like a dream." She gazed up to the fluffy clouds above them wistfully. The flush on her face from the wind really gave her a nice glow. It looked good on her.

"You're trying out for Chaser this year. Right?" He asked. He was fully prepared to admit that she was the better flier and was trying to not be worried that she might be out for his spot, even though she'd said she wanted to be Chaser at the end of last year.

"Damn right!" She smiled, then dropped her expression to a serious one. "But don't worry. I'm sure I'll still do a good job of filling in for you when you're in the Hospital Wing."

His jaw dropped in insult. "Why do you assume I'm going to be in the hospital wing?!"

She just giggled and flew a loop around him.

**Summer 1997**

She'd been relegated to the orchard for the morning. Mum had put so many spells on the tree's in the orchard so that they were basically fruit bearing year-round.

It wasn't like she could help with any of the decorations or set up when she was still underage, so picking apples was an easy way to keep her out of the way, and the house, while all of the set-up was going on for the wedding.

She'd come around to the idea of Fleur being her sister-in-law. But still thought it was a stupid time to hold a big wedding.

There was a war about to break out at any moment. Wouldn't a simple ceremony be a better idea.

Ginny wound back her arm and lobbed another apple across the meadow, feeling only a small amount of gratification when it hit its target several yards away and splattered apart.

She'd been doing this for over a half hour.

The apples she was throwing were past ripe anyways, and she was trying to stay away from everyone as long as she possibly could.

Harry in particular.

She felt rotten about how she'd basically cornered him in her room yesterday. The kiss had been wonderful. And he had certainly reciprocated. Then stupid Ron had to barge in.

Now she couldn't help but wonder if Harry was just humoring her, or if he'd wanted to continue as much as she had. With a sigh she took aim and lobbed another apple.

"Impressive splatter."

She jumped at the sudden deep voice by her side.

Harry.

She must have been truly in her head if she didn't even hear him approach. "Th-Thanks." Her nerves were all jumping at seeing how close they now stood.

"Um. Managing to avoid the fray?" He started.

She cocked one eyebrow at him. "Mum still managing to keep you and the other two apart as much as possible?"

His eyes turned sad and reflective. She didn't want to make things even more awkward between them. Ginny knew that he wasn't going to be sticking around the rest of the summer. And there was no way he was going back to Hogwarts this coming year. He was given something to do by Dumbledore before he died, and there was no doubt in her mind that he wasn't going to be completing that mission whilst staying at Hogwarts.

She picked up another apple and threw it at the tree, missing by a foot.

"You can do better than that." He commented.

"And I have been." She defended. "You try a few." She held an overripe one out for him.

"Care to make this another one of our challenges?" He asked softly.

She felt a slightly numb sensation come over her entire body. What would he want if he won? What would she want? "Okay." She croaked.

"Best of three?" He nearly whispered.

She nodded and they each picked up three spoiled apples. She was still numb and nervous on her first throw and missed again.

He threw and missed also, by nearly three feet.

"Ha." she couldn't help but laugh. "Glad you were never a Chaser."

He laughed at himself a bit too. "You'll be on the team again this year, right?"

She looked over at him and met his eyes. 'Because I won't be' was the statement that came after that question. She nodded and threw her next apple, hitting the tree.

He threw his and hit the tree this time.

She bit her lip, wondering for a moment if she should honestly try and hit the tree again. Maybe she should see what he might want as a prize.

Her 'youngest child syndrome' wouldn't let her bow down however. She lobbed the apple again and hit the tree. Slowly she turned to Harry to watch him throw his last apple.

He didn't throw it though. He held it up, as though to throw it, but he wasn't looking at the tree. He was staring at her.

In slow motion Ginny watched as the apple dropped backwards out of his raised hand and he walked the three steps to where she stood, wrapping his arm around her and capturing his mouth with his.

She sucked in a breath of relief at the feeling of him pressed up against her and his mouth on hers.

Just ten minutes ago she thought she'd never get the chance to kiss him again, and here his hand was cupping the side of her face and his lips moving deliciously against her own.

She moaned as his thumb on her side began tracing circles on her skin, dipping under her shirt. And it was edging higher up and down along her side.

They both gasped for breath as their mouths broke apart. He didn't waste any time though before trailing his lips along her jaw and down her neck until he reached a spot at her collar that made her eyes roll back in her head and she fought desperately to keep a loud moan from escaping.

Her hands were having a mind of their own wandering all over him, any place they could reach. His shoulders, his hair, his back, and down to the belt loops on his trousers where they latched on to and pulled towards her in an effort to have as little space between them as possible.

His mouth came back up to meet her lips and the two of them somehow managed for find their way down to the earth. His body over hers, and hands continuing to wander as they never stopped their mouths doing a desperate dance together.

Her legs wound around him and pulled his center against her own making them both moan greatly.

Harry's whole hand went under her shirt, and a finger traced along her bra line. She arched against his touch encouragingly. Being here against him like this was more than they'd done when they were together, and she was greedy for more.

For everything.

He rocked his pelvis against her and the sensation was so good, she just wanted to repeat it over and over and over again.

BANG.

They both jumped at the loud noise that emanated from just over the hill where the marquee was being set up.

Slowly their unfocused eyes zeroed in on each other properly. They could have been stumbled upon by any number of people where they were. They'd been lucky to have even these past few minutes, but taking the chance any further would be foolish.

He pulled his hand out from under her shirt, and she let go of her grip on his upper arm and shoulder, letting him pull back.

Once he'd sat up, she adjusted her shirt and shorts and sat up herself, looking down at her hands and thinking about where they had just been.

"I'm never going to stop wanting to do that with you." He whispered.

It was so quiet that she only just heard and raised her eyes to see him looking at her with such intensity that her breath caught in her throat.

"I'm going to miss you. So. Much."

If she listened between the lines, he sounded like he was making her a promise. That once everything was said and done, if they both survived, then he would come back for her.

She couldn't find her voice.

Ginny wanted to tell him she loved him. That she'd do anything for him, including waiting forever.

Instead she swallowed hard and moved forward to give him one more kiss.

It was a delicate kiss. And she tried to tell him everything she wanted him to know in that one simple kiss. She pulled back from him with her eyes still closed and turned away to rise to her feet and walk back to the Burrow, hoping he understood that was her promising him as well.

**Summer 1998**

"So if we were to do another one of our little challenges." Harry asked. "What would you want for your prize?"

Ginny raised her head up off where it had been resting on his shoulder, a sexy smirk forming on her face. "What exactly are you challenging me to?"

She was due to head back for her final year at Hogwarts in just three days, and they'd been making the most of their summer by spending as much time together as possible.

And as much of that time naked as possible too.

Once the war had ended, Harry, and a lot of other people, were in desperate need of recovery. Not the least because he'd taken yet another killing curse, but also due to surviving several months on next to no food.

Between his poor diet and the battle, he'd needed several restorative potions and a lot of bed rest.

Ginny had been one of the lucky ones the last month before the battle because she'd been safely stowed away at her Auntie Muriel's where she had a warm bed, her family, and food on the table three meals a day.

She'd stuck by his side as much as was allowed, and it didn't take more than one look between them to know they both wanted desperately to be together again.

Being together didn't take very long to get carnal either.

After nearly four months now they were quite comfortable being completely naked around each other for extended periods of time.

They had a silent agreement with Ron and Hermione too, who were also finding themselves in the same situation with each other. Meal times and when they were assisting with the rebuilding efforts hands should at least attempt to be kept to one's self, any other time, please don't try to find someone from another couple.

Ron was going to get enough time with Harry when they went off to the Auror Academy, and Hermione would get enough time to gossip with Ginny at school.

"I had a rather risqué challenge in mind." Harry rolled her over and lowered his head to nuzzle her breast.

"Hmm." She purred. "Do tell."

"First one to cum gets the prize." He stated before using his tongue to trace her areola.

She giggled. "Why not just tell me I've won a prize now?"

It rather surprised the both of them how he was able to get her off an average of two times to his one. At first she'd thought it was because she was doing something that just hadn't been doing it for him. After hearing so many stories of how guys can't last, or how girls were lucky if they didn't have to fake it, to find herself getting off repeatedly before he did, she wasn't quite sure what to think.

Once she'd finally asked him if she was doing something wrong, he'd been astounded she thought that way and explained how he held back his finish as long as possible because he got so much pleasure out of the act, that and watching her when she came.

"Perhaps I won't hold anything back this time." He teased. "Be a little greedy." He added sinisterly and slapped a hand against her bum.

"Now you've got me curious as to what you might want your prize to be." She thought over what he might like to do to her that they hadn't already done. Not that they'd gotten crazy adventurous, but they'd gone down on each other, and tried a variety of positions.

Location hadn't been something they'd been too shy about either. Currently they were just past the orchard on the opposite side of the Burrow, and just yesterday they'd managed to sneak into the shower together.

"Well, you'll have to make a real effort to find out then, won't you?" He took her nipple in his mouth and moved his fingers to her entrance, dipping one inside her before rubbing it in circles around her clit.

"Ohhh. You don't fight fair." She moaned and arched at his touch, which was absolute heaven.

She used all of her weight to flip them over and pin him to the grass. He moved to take his glasses off, but she stopped him.

"Oh no. I'll need you to watch this." She told him seductively as she straddled him, poised over top of his erection. She grasped it gently, but completely in her hand and gave him several slow strokes before lowering herself onto it.

Part of what she thought might help him along in his arousal was the visual aspect. He couldn't very well get the full visual experience if he couldn't see her riding him.

Luckily her Quidditch practicing had given her quite the thigh muscles, because this position on the unforgiving ground was not an easy one to maintain. Harry seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself though, and that was her goal.

But it really wasn't doing much for her.

In a moment of whimsy she decided to stand up and turn herself around before lowering herself back down onto him in reverse cowgirl.

The groan that emanated from him told her that this was a fantastic idea. What really surprised her was her own groan that this position caused. The tilt of his manhood, and the way it moved inside her when she swirled her hips around a certain way.

It was absolute bliss.

The familiar pressure started building higher and higher with every rock of her hips and before she could even think about trying to change position again to get him there first she was crying out in ecstasy. As soon as her cry escaped her lips his hands were at her hips moving her up and down aggressively to meet his thrusts. Her own high hadn't even worn off before he spilled himself inside of her.

Ginny tried laying down, but instead did a kind of roll and flop onto the ground beside him, trying to catch her breath and stop her head from spinning.

Once she regained her sense of self she had time to think over what her prize was going to be. Rolling over to cuddle into his side she saw the happy post coital smile on his face. "Harry." She whispered.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"I want you to sneak onto the Hogwarts Express with your invisibility cloak and take me in one of the carriage compartments."

His eyes snapped open and he turned his head to meet her eyes. He must have gauged how serious she was about her request.

It didn't look like he had a problem with it.

**Summer 1999**

Harry hovered, ready to protect the three rings with everything he had from Ginny's front on attack.

She was a truly exceptional Chaser. And he had no doubt that she would land one of the coveted reserve positions on the Holyhead Harpies that she'd tried out for just last week.

He'd gone to watch some of the trials and saw her competition. They were all fiercely good players, but still had nothing on his girl.

Mind you, he wasn't supposed to have been watching the closed pitch try-outs, but no one would try to stop 'The Chosen One' from doing practically anything. Though he didn't have to use that ticket, they couldn't have seen him under his invisibility cloak. He was just too excited and nervous for her to not go.

Today they were both at the Burrow for Sunday lunch and she was getting in some practice. Tomorrow is when the letter was supposed to come saying whether she had an offer or not.

He'd had to fight against everything he had not to interfere and try and get her letter early. This was Ginny's dream, and he wasn't going to get involved in his 'celebrity' capacity. He was going to be cheering her on from the sidelines.

Right this minute though they were in the midst of another challenge.

She was an amazing Chaser, and he was a decent Quidditch player in general. So, he thought he had a chance to win this one. Even if he lost, he was still going to take a shot at claiming his prize.

There was a slim chance he'd win though. If he really focused

The challenge was that she had to make ten shots on the hoops, if he managed to block three of them then he won.

He gripped his trusty Firebolt, determined to try and earn his prize.

As Ginny barreled towards him on her first attempt, sweeping and swerving with her blazing look of determination on her face, he knew his chances were much more slim than he'd thought.

She'd spent more time on her broom in the last year than she had in the classrooms. That was made ever prevalent from her NEWT results, which may not have been anything to tilt up your nose at, but Ginny was a smart girl, and she'd just barely scraped passing grades.

Ginny had been named Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and had tried to be fair to her team by not making them practice as much as she wanted to. In her letters home she'd mentioned of Hermione nagging her incessantly to no avail. Hermione and she just had wildly differentiating life goals, and his bookish best friend just couldn't wrap her mind around how one could dedicate their time to sport over studies.

Harry had managed to go to all three of her games, and was there to celebrate every one of their wins. One of which was from the Chasers scoring 23 times, but the other team had caught the snitch. His trips to Hogwarts, sanctioned or otherwise, had been wonderful and always included alone time somewhere with his beautiful girlfriend.

He'd moved into Grimmauld Place with Ron last September, and Ginny had been living home at the Burrow since getting out of school. They'd each take turns sneaking into the others bed once a week. The family knew it was happening, but no one spoke it out loud.

He dove desperately to try and block the third ring, where he was sure she was aiming, only to have the tenth Quaffel pass through the middle hoop.

"My my Mr. Potter. You sure seemed to be making a lot of wasted effort there." Ginny teased, pulling up to hang in the air in front of him.

"You are just too fucking good Miss Weasley." He pouted.

"You look put out!" She said in surprise. "You normally hope I'm going to win our little challenges."

"Normally, yeah." He offered and they both turned their broom handles down to land on the grass.

"Babe, if you wanted to win, maybe you shouldn't have set that particular challenge." She laughed. "Or did you honestly think you could block me? You're a Seeker, not a Keeper."

He did feel like he wanted to kick himself. "Well?" he asked lightly.

She stared at him blankly. "Well what?"

He let out a laugh. "Well, what is your prize?"

She scrunched up her face in thought, then narrowed her eyes. "My prize is for you to tell me what it is you would have claimed as your prize."

Harry felt a bubble of happiness, and a healthy amount of nerves. He'd actually hoped she might say something to that effect.

His hand went to his pocket as he felt he might trip over his tongue. "I want your jersey to say Weasley." He managed to say. Then he pulled out the ring he'd been carrying around for weeks and held it up for her to see. "At least for a year."

Everything around them seemed to freeze in place while she looked down at the little single diamond, platinum ring in between his thumb and index finger.

Time itself dragged on as he waited for her to say something.

He should have gotten down on one knee. Should he do that now? Would that look stupid. This was way too soon for her. They didn't have to do things the old-fashioned way. Maybe he should take it back, and just ask her to move in with him?

He was getting completely in his own head about it as she took an eternity to respond.

If she didn't say anything soon he was going to tell her he was joking. It would be the world's worst joke, but then at least they could both laugh awkwardly and pretend he hadn't just made a complete fool of himself.

He felt the hope start to seep in when her astonished look turned into the most brilliant smile he'd ever seen on her face.

Right before she launched herself at him.


	2. Christmas Oral

**For the Discord Ginny Lovers group. The name of the chapter says it all.**

**Holiday Oral**

He'd thought it might have annoyed her the way he rejected her suggestions for any potential gift he might want this holiday season. She was finally out of school and making an income in her reserve position on the Holyhead Harpies team, he didn't need her wasting her hard earned money on frivolous items for him.

Truthfully with her endorsement deals she was getting because of her reserve position on the Holyhead Harpies team she was doing very well for herself and also wanted for nothing. But lucky for him, there was always a spa weekend or other experience type gifts that he could get for her.

Every time she'd asked him what he wanted for Christmas though, he'd responded with an automatic 'I already have everything I want'.

And he did.

She was officially his fiancée now, and they were getting married in the coming year. She had moved into Godrics Hollow with him two months after they'd gotten engaged and convinced her parents that it was completely in keeping with the times to live together before they were married.

And his vault was overflowing with money, so anything he might want he had no qualms about going out and getting for himself. Christmas with the Weasleys was always wonderful. Full of food and drink and laughs. So, there wasn't anything he could think of that she could just go out and buy him.

Now, if she said that to him, that she didn't want anything, he'd probably get rather irritated. But she took it in stride and just gave him this curious look as though figuring out the puzzle that was his gift preference when there honestly wasn't anything he could think of.

It was now Christmas Eve and they'd come back from a party at one of her fellow Harpies places having had a few hours of mingling, appetizers and not too much to drink. Ginny gave him a kiss after she'd shed her jacket and popped upstairs to get out of her party clothes and into something comfortable. The idea of getting into their bedclothes and having a drink in front of the fireplace sounded appealing to him before going up to bed.

He headed into the kitchen to see about making a drink and heard her come back downstairs.

With two mugs of hot chocolate with a bit of spiced rum in them in his hands he went back into the sitting room to see her standing in front of the Christmas tree and nearly dropped their drinks.

She'd changed alright. But this outfit did not at all look like something more comfortable than the party dress she'd had on. She'd donned a pair of black boots that came up to her knees. Her red knickers had a black buckled belt unnecessarily looped through the top of them and her red bra had black straps holding it up with white fluff across the crest of her bosom. The whole ensemble was topped off with a Santa hat and more mascara and dark red lipstick than she had been wearing.

She looked so fucking hot that his brain had completely shut off at the sight of her illuminated by the twinkle lights of the tree behind her.

She was giving him this triumphant and sultry look and he couldn't move.

Somehow this outfit made her look hotter than he'd ever seen her. His eyes raked over her whole body. her beautiful face, her heavily freckled shoulders, her lovely taut abdomen and the mesmerizing breasts in between them and down to her creamy thighs.

"Do you want to fuck me, Harry?" She asked.

His eyes snapped back to hers.

She knew he did. What bloke wouldn't want to?

He wanted to fuck her all the time when she wasn't looking so deliciously fuckable and wearing an outfit like this specifically for him. She could have asked him that at the party they were just at and he would have dragged her into any secluded spot and given it to her.

There were so many different ways he wanted to take her right then that he couldn't figure out which one he wanted first. Her mouth looked like it wanted to take him inside it. But those knickers looked like they were elastic enough for him to slip his head between her legs and move it to the side to take her with his mouth too.

Or not with his mouth.

If she crawled up on the sofa though he was pretty sure that sliding those knickers down her bum and taking her from behind while she had that hat on would be one hell of an erotic sight as well.

So many options.

He set the mugs down on the buffet beside him and started slowly towards her, never losing eye contact while he loosened his tie. "Are you my Christmas present?" He asked in a deep voice.

Her tongue darted out for a small lick of her lips. He caught the way her breathing changed, getting deeper and hitching as he drew closer. She had this tell, he'd discovered, when she was getting worked up and wet for him. These goosebumps would appear. Not everywhere. Just on her arms right above her elbows, and these little abdominal twitches would happen. He knew for sure that if he was able to see her ass just then it would be clenching off and on as she tried to control her pelvic muscles.

She didn't answer his question. She waited until there was only a few inches between them and gave him a sultry smirk, ensuring her breath movements were helping accentuate her cleavage for his benefit and reaching out to undo his belt and trousers.

"How do you want to fuck me Harry?" She asked, sounding more like a fantasy than reality.

She was offering herself up for him to do with whatever he wanted. His sexy little . Her lips, however, were looking particularly appealing. He reached out to cup her cheek and trace the underside of her lower lip with his thumb.

With the way he was looking at her lips, then slowly back up to her eyes he made his answer clear.

One of her hands dipped into his pants to grab the full length of him, stroking him nice and slow before she lowered herself to her knees in front of him, tugging down the lower half of his clothes with her before she looked back up at him as she poised herself at the ready. He met her eye as she took his erection into her hot mouth as far as she could.

Ginny was certainly experienced in taking his cock in her mouth, and he got great pleasure from it every time. But looking down at her in this outfit, with the kinky boots visible behind her and her holiday hat, it just made it all the hotter.

She wasn't sucking him off like it was a leisure activity either. With the steady and quick movement of her hand fisting around the bottom half of his shaft, coupled with the pace of her mouth and tongue moving at a slightly slower pace; she was determined. Her eyes looking up at him while she sucked him off made it all the hotter.

His eye's rolled back in his head, wishing he'd sat down before she started blowing him. But there was no way he was going to attempt relocating her now. Most of his brain power was going into not grabbing the back of her head and thrusting into her mouth himself. As her hand glided quickly up and down his shaft, and her tongue swirled around his tip on her withdraw Harry had to reach out and grip the mantle above the fireplace, as it was the only thing within reaching distance.

Her other hand came up between his legs and rested on his lower back, as high as she would have been able to reach, then slowly slid down over his cheeks, under him and along between his testicles. She maneuvered her hand around the other one and he felt her open her mouth wider and put one of her fingers in her mouth alongside his erection.

As her finger withdrew and she continued using her mouth to fuck him he looked down at her again with wide eyes. Her wet finger went back between his legs. She lay it between his cheeks and the feeling of that made his eyes go wider. She was looking back up at him with a naughty glint as she applied more and more pressure there.

He didn't' stop her. He couldn't stop her. Her mouth and gripped hand were working him over in a most pleasurable way, and now she was doing this.

They hadn't done **this** before.

He swallowed deeply and tried to relax enough to keep himself together as she slid her finger inside him. Not all the way, only a bit. He lurched forward at the foreign feeling. His breath caught.

She hadn't stopped taking care of his front while she invaded his rear, and the added sensation had him shaking in a way that he'd never experienced before. It should feel wrong. He should feel disgusted. But this added pressure so close to the area of absolute pleasure she was giving him with her mouth was just so hot.

He let out a loud groan of pleasure and his head rolled back. Gripping the mantle place ledge harder with one hand he couldn't help the lust-filled monster inside him telling him that he needed to cum in her mouth now by whatever method got him there.

His free hand went to the back of her head and he thrust back and forth in little rocking movements that insured he wouldn't be jamming his cock all the way down the back of her throat, but it was making her finger move slightly in and out of him. She was working her tongue on the underside of his shaft in time with his thrusts and his build-up was coming over him like a flood.

His flood doors were about to open too.

Clenching his jaw he looked down at her right at he was about to cum. He had to see her taking his cum in her mouth. "FUCK!" He yelled as he spilled inside her mouth, thrusting forward as much as she allowed, using her hand gripped around him to halt his movements forward.

He groaned with relief as she continued lapping up his seed, his whole body twitching as her tongue rolled gently over his head.

Eventually he realized both of them had halted their movements and she still needed to remove herself.

He looked down again.

She appeared quite smug about her performance. Ginny gave him a slow wink at the same time she slowly removed her finger from behind him. He lurched forward at the unfamiliar sensation, swallowing deeply as his head came up and eyes closed to recover from the feeling.

She removed her other hand from around his softening erection and gave one last lick down the full length of his shaft that caused him to jerk once more.

By the time he opened his eyes again she was standing in front of him and giving a slow lick of her top lip, humming in pleasure. She stepped forward and pressed herself against him then gave a kiss and lick along the pulse point of his neck before nipping lightly at his ear.

"Happy Christmas." She whispered. "I'll be in the bedroom."

As she walked away from him he followed her with his eyes, his body still recovering. He was in such shock still that he couldn't even manage to pull the face splitting smile that he was feeling inside.

He was the luckiest man ever.


	3. Creamed Potato Smut

**Another prompted challenge for you all to enjoy.**

**Came from a typo, but the challenge was accepted and completed anyways :)**

**It's a short one.**

It was mesmerizing the way her hand was moving.

But it shouldn't be. So, he tried to look away and turn his attention to something else. But he could still see the movements out of the corner of his eye. So his gaze went back.

The movements were so rhythmic. The grip required for them was so steady and sure.

He couldn't look away again, but if he was caught staring at what she was doing then it could spell trouble considering who he was surrounded by.

This was wildly inappropriate, and he couldn't help it; her movements were perfect.

If she is making those movements right now, but firmly gripping a certain hard part of his anatomy instead of a potato masher then he would be adding his own salt to that dish shortly.

His attraction to her was growing so steadily over the past few months since he'd seen her snogging Dean in the corridor. Erotic images of what he'd do to her if he had her alone to himself in a corridor had flooded his dreams and he couldn't shake them.

She wasn't just pretty. She was fucking hot, and he wanted her to be touching him under this table. Not be on the opposite side of it from him rhythmically mashing those potatoes with her up and down movements and never-ending stamina.

He'd managed to swallow down most of his breakfast while he watched his odd little fetish show before him. Everyone else was still engaged in conversation and bacon, besides her. Now was when he could make a break for it to get some relief.

He let out a cough and excused himself from the table to head up and wash up. Pushing back from the table he tried to walk as casually as possible while hiding his erection. His pajama bottoms were not the best material for hiding such a problem, but had he been whatsoever successful in Divination class and know that Ginny was going to be making erotically suggestive movements in front of him for the duration of breakfast, then he wouldn't have worn them downstairs.

He bee-lined it for the bathroom, which was mercifully vacant at the moment and locked the door before turning on the shower.

He couldn't wait for the water to heat up before he pulled his shirt off and plunged his hand into his pants to grip himself, biting his tongue to stop the relieved groan he wanted to let out. He shimmied his bottoms to the floor and kept stroking himself, imagining it was her touching him there.

She would be able to do it like this. Her grip would be just as firm. He wouldn't have to show her how he liked it. She'd just been demonstrating the exact way he wanted it.

Stepping into the shower he continued his movements and pulled up the image of her in the corridor back at Hogwarts with him, her lips firmly against his. Her one hand would be on his erection and the other gripping the hair on the back of his head.

No, wait.

They would be exactly where he'd seen her a minute ago.

Late at night.

She'd be getting dinner prep done for the following day, everyone else was gone to sleep. A deep sleep, and the two of them could be as loud as they wanted because no one would be able to hear them.

She'd be standing up at the counter this time and he would come up behind her while she was working away at those potatoes.

He kept stroking as he recalled the scent of her hair. Not too difficult to do that, she had been the last to use the shower before him and her shampoo lingered. His cock twitched in his hand realizing her scent surrounded him and he gave a harder thrust into it knowing she'd been naked in this tub only a short while ago.

Fantasy him would press himself up against her back. She would look over her shoulder at him, smirking about the fact that her teasing had done its job. She'd be pleased that he was so hard and pressed flush against her bum. In fact, she'd be rocking her bum against his erection in time with the movement of her mashing.

He would pull her hair to one side, so her bare neck was exposed and lean down to kiss it. Then he would hum in pleasure at the taste of her flesh on his tongue, matching her own hum of satisfaction from having his mouth on her.

Her rocking movements against him won't cease for a moment as she dips a finger into the bowl in front of her and she brings a little dollop of the mash up, smearing it on the skin he'd just had in his mouth.

Gripping her hips harder to rock more firmly against her glorious ass he would lower his mouth again, licking every particle of potato off of her while she moans with pleasure.

His hand went down to tug at his balls while the other one continued stroking. This little scene he was playing out in his mind was infinitely better than any naked pin up photo he'd come across.

Now they're naked in the same position. She takes another dollop of the mashing and turns around, pushing the pot away. His erection is now pressed right up against her belly and there'd be this look in her eye that she gets when she's determined.

Slowly she lowers her finger, wiping a line of mash down the front of her chest between her breasts and licking her lips in anticipation and invitation.

He could lick it off first, but he wouldn't be able to wait anymore. He'd lift her up and set her on the counter that is the perfect height for him to bury himself in her ready and glistening opening. Both of them are eager for it. She would grab hold of his erection and stroke it in the manner that put them in this situation in the first place until he couldn't take it anymore. Then he'd remove her hand and plunge himself completely inside her.

Both of them would cry out in pleasure at the feeling.

His strokes were going faster and deliberate now at the fantasy with the hint of aggression that was his body telling him it wasn't playing around time anymore. The teasing was over and his cock demanded satisfaction and release.

He'd dip his head while he fucked her on the counter and start licking the mash of her breasts.

She'd arch back to allow him more access and he'd lick every part of her chest he could reach. As the last essence of mashed potato was cleaned up, she'd cry out his name in ecstasy. Then he'd follow her right over that cliff.

He jerked forward as his load shot out of him in the shower, biting both of his lips so he didn't cry out her name.

Slowly his breath returned to normal and his lust filled brain cleared of the haze.

He was never going to look at potatoes the same way again.


	4. Clothes- Damn you WWW!

**One Shot Challenge- Ginny's clothes keep disappearing- Originally posted 07/31/2019**

It was such a relief to get outside.

All day mum had her cooking and cleaning in the kitchen. She was the only one of the kids in the house that didn't currently have a friend over.

Now, that didn't normally stop mum from getting her brothers and their friends from de-gnoming the garden, or taking care of the washing. But today it was 'pile it on Ginny' day.

Ron had Harry over and they were holed up in his room, probably talking about Sirius.

She felt bad for Harry losing his godfather, so soon after finally having him in his life too. And she wasn't a good enough friend with him to impose herself on him in any kind of consoling way. No matter how much she wanted to throw her arms around him and hold him close forever.

A good snog would probably take his mind off it for a while, she mused. Then she scolded herself.

She was seeing Dean, and she was over her crush.

Over it.

Over it.

She repeated in her head as she stomped to the broom shed. If she repeated it enough, maybe then it would be true, and she wouldn't get this hopeful knot in her stomach every time he casually glanced her way.

She yanked the shed door open and pulled out George's brooms.

That shit.

The twins were days away from moving out permanently. Lee Jordan, their best friend, was currently with them in their room helping to contain whatever surprise disasters that could go off from their forgotten projects from over the years found in corners and under floorboards in their room.

George had just been teasing her about mum turning her into the perfect house wife for some lucky guy and that started a row.

They'd tussled and she wound up pinned to the floor in their room with a loogie dangling inches away from her face. Mum intervened and had kicked her out of the house to cool off.

Well, it was his fault she was wound up, so she would cool off on his broom. Maybe it needed a real Quidditch player to run it through the paces for once.

She launched into the air and zipped around the pitch. The wind she'd generated felt amazing. Her hair would be a mess by the time she was done, but it didn't matter. Feeling the wind shipping through it was half the enjoyment of flying.

The wind on her arms and back was cooling her off quite nicely too.

She started in on a few aerial moves.

Hmm. She closed her eyes a moment during her turns and enjoyed the breeze on her stomach too. It went under her shirt and she felt it pass along the line of her bra. Such a pleasurable sensation on this sunny day.

Wait a second.

She paused the broom mid-air and looked down.

What the hell was going on with her shirt?

She looked down and saw that the shirt, which's hem had met her shorts a moment ago, was now more of a crop top! She reached behind her and felt that it was almost completely backless. And getting shorter!

"Ah!" Her shorts had suddenly felt much looser at the waist. Grabbing at the back, where she should have felt a belt loop, she instead made contact with her knickers.

Her clothes were disappearing!

Ginny let out a frustrated growl. What had those idiots done?

This must have been the twins. There was no other explanation. She'd been subjected to enough of their experiments over the years to know it.

She really liked these clothes too. It wasn't like she had an overwhelming supply of shirts and shorts to choose from, and they'd gone and destroyed her favorites!

Oh. They were going to pay.

Looking over towards the clothes line around the other side of the Burrow she made out some of her other items drying.

Before she could turn towards it, whatever was happening to her current clothes accelerated and she found herself in only her bra and knickers. As if that wasn't bad enough, all the male occupants of the Burrow now decided to head outside.

She looked around. There was nothing for her to hide behind! Only the pond was close by.

She turned the broom handle down and towards it, rolling off the broom and falling in. The broom landed in the water beside her.

Ginny was still furious at her situation when the five boys came to stand by the water side.

"Oi!" George called. "Is that my broom in the water? What the hell are you doing? Get it out of there!"

"What the hell am I doing? What the hell did you do? My clothes disappeared because of whatever you did. Go get me something to wear!" She barked at him while everyone looked on at her puzzled.

George stared at her a moment before something seemed to have clicked and he turned toward Fred and Lee. "Guess we missed some of it." He exchanged with them, just loud enough for Ginny to hear.

"Missed some of what?" She was crouched down with only her head above the water, and part of her shoulder. Enough that they would be able to tell that she did still have her bra on. "Whatever it is, it had better not melt my skin off or destroy my hair!" She demanded.

"Ah, relax." George dismissed her concerns.

"Yeah." Fred chipped in. "It only works on fabrics. It was a vanishing powder that ate away at polyester or something. You must have rolled in it earlier."

"Fantastic." She bit. "Now go get me some clothes!" She yelled louder.

There was a chance that it would continue to eat away at her underclothes and she really didn't want to have to walk out of the water past Harry completely starkers. Or even practically starkers.

She may have been developing nicely and had more to hide than she did when she was eight and ran around everywhere naked while her mum and older brothers chased her trying to get her into some frilly frock, but had a long way to go before she properly looked like a woman.

All the boys on the shore looked quite amused at her situation. All except Harry, who looked pretty embarrassed for her.

"Well?" She asked, expecting one of them at least to offer her a shirt.

"Well what?" George laughed. "Looks like you could use some more cooling off."

"Yeah, I reckon you can just stay where you are little girl." Fred added.

All thoughts of modesty flew out of her head to make way for fury at that comment. She was wearing a decent set of under things. And the water seemed to have stopped the powder, or potion, from disintegrating them.

Not caring that there were two boys unrelated to her watching, she stood up in the water and waded towards them.

"Oi!" Ron protested to her being so brazenly under dressed in front of his best mate and Lee.

"Oi what?" She challenged Ron as she made it to the shore, feeling powerful from the shocked eyes and blushing cheeks of her brothers friends, coupled with the offended and angry eyes of her brothers.

She went straight up to George in all her thoroughly soaked glory. "You can get your own broom out of there." She tilted her head back towards the pond and shoved him hard in the shoulder with her own as she passed, giving a cheeky wink to Lee, who now looked appreciatively dazed.

Ginny did her best to walk normally back to the house. She was determined to hold her head high. The whole way back to the house she fought the urge to turn back and properly gauge Harry's reaction. She wouldn't look back, no matter how desperately she wanted to know if he liked what he saw.


	5. Chimera

**Discord Challenge- Ginny's Dream. Only parameters, 500-1000 words. Originally posted 08/06/2019**

It was a blessing really that Hermione was all wrapped up with Ron and Harry with whatever it was the lot of them talked about when she wasn't there in the room with them.

Probably more about how Harry was stubborn and brooding, and the two others trying to pull him out of it. Hermione with her logic, Ron with his shrugs and placing blame on anything and everything but himself.

She was proud of herself with how she hadn't shown how much it had bothered her that he'd 'forgotten' that she'd been possessed by Him. Simply brushed it off and gave her opinions and insights.

It was something they shared. A monumental part of her life, and he'd just forgotten. As if slaying a Basilisk, destroying a cursed Dark object and rescuing someone from the brink of death was a daily occurrence for him. Sure, he seemed to find some way to be noble and heroic every year. But really.

It hurt her. She was still crushing on him. Hard. How could she not? He was literally the boy of her dreams, and try as she did, she truly felt like he was it for her.

Ginny was curled up on her bed, letting her tears flow down her face while she clutched her pillow in the dark room, absolutely hating that her emotions were getting the better of her.

She was stifling her sniffles and trying to pass off that she'd just fallen asleep when Hermione came into the room.

"Ginny?" She called softly.

Ginny didn't respond. She knew what the conversation would be if she did. 'He didn't know what he was saying.' 'Of course he remembers it.' 'You really gave him some piece of mind, thank you.''I thought you were moving on.'

She didn't want to hear it.

Hermione moved about the room, not turning the light on, as she got into her sleep clothes and climbed into the other side of the bed.

It took a while, but Ginny finally drifted off to sleep.

Not too much later she woke.

"Hey." Came the soft voice of Harry, who was crouched by the bed on her side.

"Harry? What are you doing in here?" She whispered ash she blinked the sleep out of her eyes and looked over to make sure that Hermione was still asleep.

He reached out and traced his hand down the side of her face, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and using his thumb to wipe away her trail of tears. "I came to check on you."

"Wha-what?" This was completely out of character for him. He was being so tender. And initiating contact.

"Please come with me." He stood up and offered her his hand.

She shifted the blankets off of her and took his hand. As soon as he pulled her out of the bed they were down in the kitchen before her feet hit the floor, a hot cup of cocoa was in her hand.

"I remember, I promise." He told her in earnest.

She regarded her cup sadly. "No you didn't. You don't have to lie. I know you have important things to deal with on your plate Harry. My feelings don't need to be on there too."

He got out of his chair and moved to sit beside her. Close beside her. His arm came around behind her, and his other hand cupped the side of her face again, tilting it up so she had to meet his eyes.

"You are important. And I'm not lying." His dark green orbs portrayed the truth behind his words. "I didn't forget. I could never forget anything to do with you."

"Harry." She whispered, putting a hand to his chest, pushing him away slightly.

He pulled her closer. "You look beautiful in that dress."

Ginny looked down bewildered. She was wearing a dress. The one she had worn to the Yule Ball, and he was wearing his suit. They weren't in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place anymore. They were in the Chamber of Secrets.

There was no Tom Riddle, no Basilisk and no Diary. It wasn't so scary down here anymore. Not with Harry's arms wrapped around her like they were.

He leaned his head down and nuzzled the crook of her neck.

His movement elicited a delicious feeling inside her that radiated through her whole body making her knees weak and her arms tremble slightly.

"We share this Ginny. You and I together. This is ours. Ron and Hermione don't understand, no one does. And I've pushed my feelings about it so far down inside myself because they weren't appropriate. Not then." He raised his head and traced his thumb over her bottom lip. "Now though. Here we are, and I can't resist anymore. It's been killing me. Not being with you. Not being able to talk to you about it."

"Why couldn't you?" Her voice quivered. This was all she'd ever wanted. Was he professing his feelings to her? He never talked about his feelings, no matter what they were.

"We were too young. I was twelve, you were eleven." He stated with a shake of the head. "No one would have understood our bond then." His hand at her hip ran behind her to the small of her back. "But now, we're more mature. We can put words to this." He leaned in so she could feel his breath on her, she could breathe in what he was breathing out. "I can't wait anymore." He whispered before he dropped his head down farther and she tilted her's up.

Ginny gasped as she felt like she was falling.

It was dark all around her and all she could hear was Hermione breathing evenly from the other side of the bed.

Of course it had been a dream.

It was always a wonderful dream or a wallflower present with him.

She rolled over once more so her back was facing Hermione and hugged her pillow to her front, pretending it was him.

**And now for Harry's**

**Discord Challenge- In Half Blood Prince, Harry remarks that Ginny "kept cropping up in his dreams in ways that made him devoutly thankful that Ron could not perform Legilimency." Here is one of those dreams.**

"How was it?" Ron asked from his bed when Harry entered the dorm room.

It looked like Ron had been there the whole evening just tossing a ball in the air. He sounded morose about it. Still upset that he wasn't a part of the Slug Club when Harry, Hermione and even Ginny had been inducted into the whole affair.

"Stuffy." Harry shrugged. "Food was decent enough." Was the short response he managed. Honestly he just wanted to climb into bed, pull the curtains closed and go over certain aspects of the evening.

Not the aspects that he should probably focus on, like how Slughorn had responded to his questions, but... Ginny.

He glanced over to Dean's bed and saw that his, and all the other beds were empty. He really hoped that where ever Dean was, he wasn't giving her a hard time. Or if he was, that she'd give him her last piece of mind before kicking him to the curb.

"Look mate, honestly, I'd trade places with you if I could. The food was good, the conversation was painful, and I hate dressing up like this." he gestured to his suit before pulling at his tie.

"Yeah." Ron sighed.

"I'm knackered. I'm just going to sleep." Harry told him before changing into his bedclothes and pulling his curtains closed.

It was such a relief to be laying there in the dark, away from the prying eyes of his friends and foes.

He certainly didn't need anyone asking him about the expressions on his face when he thought about his new favorite daydream. And night dream.

It was a big turn of events, him crushing on Ginny after she'd supposedly been crushing on him for so many years. And now she was unavailable, and uninterested.

Her face, and her flowery scent filled his thoughts constantly these past few weeks, and she was too busy snogging and fighting with her boyfriend to notice how much his gaze lingered on her.

Here in his bed though, he pulled up the most recent image of her face. She had been rather flush, and her eyes a little more puffy than usual. Hermione said she thought her and Dean had been fighting again, and he could see that she was trying to keep her emotions in check. She was so strong like that. And beautiful.

His eyes grew heavy as he pictured her sitting there at the table, only half listening to the conversations that were going around them.

The sound of his curtains being shifted open slightly woke him. It must have been hours later. He didn't have enough time to sit up, let alone pull on his glasses before he felt a body lay over top of his. Lips met his and he panicked and froze at the heat that radiated from this persons body and the wonderful pressure of their lips on his.

He inhaled through his nose in surprise, and it filled with the amazing smell of her.

Ginny.

Ginny was in his bed. Ginny was kissing him as though her life depended on it. His hand went to her hair and he responded to her kiss. She moaned and tugged at the blanket that lay between them.

She pulled back and shifted so she could get under it and pull it over the both of them.

It was still too dark to see anything, but he knew with out a doubt that it was her, and he certainly wasn't going to question or stop this.

His hand went back into her hair to pull her lips back to his when she was fully settled and he groaned at the sensation of her body pressed firmly up against his.

She licked his lip and he opened his mouth to her. She was leading, and it was entirely arousing. So much so that his body was responding, and he knew she could feel him against her leg.

Ginny didn't shy away from that though. She gave a small giggle against his mouth and her hand traced down his side to grasp him firmly in her hand.

"Ginny" He moaned at the sensation of her bare hand wrapped around his hard member.

She froze.

Her hand was still holding him, but she pulled back from his mouth and her other hand pulled back at the curtain slightly to allow some light into the four poster.

"Harry?" She asked quietly, and in shock.

Harry didn't know how to respond to her, except to blink at her in horror.

Had she thought she was climbing into Dean's bed? Had she done this before? With him?

He watched closely as her expression slowly turned from one of shock to one of a deep, satisfied pleasure before she dipped her head down and her mouth found his earlobe. "I thought it felt bigger." She murmured.

His eyes rolled back in his head when her hand started pumping him up and down.

"Your lips feel so much better than his too." She whispered and he set about showing her just how much better he could snog her than Dean.

With their lips entirely occupied his hands were all over her. Down her back, grabbing at her bum, trailing up her sides to her breasts. And she was humming in appreciation the whole way.

He rolled them over, carefully as she was still grasping him and moving her hand up and down. Breaking their kiss he moved his lips down to the little dip in her collar. He wanted so badly to mark her. It was some primitive male instinct that wanted to show to everyone that he'd laid claim to her. Harry sucked and licked and nipped, all the while she was arching her back and grinding her lower half against where she was touching him.

"Harry!" She moaned softly when he met her movements.

He was dizzy with arousal, and so close to cumming when she nipped at his ear.

It was that that awoke him.

He was alone in his bed.

He felt around desperately for her with one hand. His other was under his pajama bottoms, grasping himself firmly.

He didn't have the space in his emotional range for disappointment at that moment, he was entirely too horny for that.

Closing his eyes firmly he envisioned how the rest of his dream would have gone, with Ginny there taking care of him in her hand, in her mouth, in her.  
He exploded at that.

Quickly he reached for his wand and cast a cleaning charm before laying back and staring at the ceiling with a sigh.

He knew it was too good to be true.


	6. Comfort Food

**Discord challenge- Ginny wants ice cream.- Originally posted 8/8/2019**

**The one-shot I came up with for it is a little sad, and a little sexy. Enjoy.**

As she stood up after lowering what she hoped was her last shared load the pains in her body finally pronounced themselves. It felt like a vice had been clamped around her thighs. The muscles in her back and arms pulled with every movement she made. Her whole body protesting at the slightest movement.

For hours now she had been wandering the castle and grounds with countless others, searching for the fallen soldiers. It didn't matter which side they'd been on. All the bodies had to be moved.

There was a silent agreement amongst them all that it be done without magic.

Sometimes she was aware of who she was helping lift the bodies with, sometimes she couldn't even see them through the tears in her eyes.

It was torturous work, and she couldn't divert any more energy into shielding herself from her emotions.

Especially when she recognized who it was she was carrying.

She embraced the pain. It was nothing compared to what she'd felt from the Cruciatus curse.

It felt good to let her tears fall as well.

All year she'd tried to be a beacon of strength amongst her peers. The younger students in particular. She'd refused to let herself crumble in front of them in exhaustion. They needed her more than she needed a cathartic breakdown.

She took one more walk around the castle and grounds and didn't see anyone laying prostrate on the ground, nor heard any morose calls for assistance.

Standing once more in the grand doorway to the Great Hall she found it divided. Like there was a line down the center, and everyone had been separated into two categories; with a heartbeat, and without.

Her family was now sitting together at the far end of the Gryffindor table, comforting each other as best they could. Save for Ron, who had disappeared earlier, herself, and Fred, who was in the other category.

Her family hadn't been sitting there for long. Everyone had pulled their weight. It didn't matter if you were in mourning for a friend or family member. The wands may be down, but this was the last part of the war that no one talked about in books.

What the clean up after a war actually was.

She couldn't bring herself to go in and join her family. She didn't want to do any comforting right now.

She wanted to be comforted.

A ridiculously whimsical idea came to her head at that.

Ice cream.

When she was little and she'd scrapped her knee, or her brothers had left her out of an adventure and she was feeling down she always had some ice cream and felt a little better.

Her feet had started taking her there before the thought even finished registering.

She let her feet lead her down the familiar corridor that would take her to it. The house Elves had already been hard at work righting all of the wrong that had happened.

And it seemed so wrong somehow. Like they shouldn't have cleaned up and erased the awfulness so soon after. There was no more rubble, or unidentified splatters anywhere along her way down. The portraits were not even off center.

She reached the one portrait in particular that was her destination and tickled the pear to gain entrance.

Throughout the year the leaders of the resistance had taken turns coming here to get whatever meager scraps the House Elves felt they could provide. It had always been a bustling place.

Now, every last House Elf was elsewhere, and the kitchen was empty of all but one other person.

They stared at each other in shock for a moment. It was the last place she expected to come across him and she had to blink a few times to make sure some sort of sleep deprived, hunter driven delirium was causing her to hallucinate.

She had assumed she might not find him alone for quite some time.

Without a word she headed to the freezer cupboard and grabbed a carton of chocolate ice cream and a spoon before taking a seat beside him.

It had to be beside him, because otherwise it would be too easy to look up across from her and into his eyes.

Taking a scoop of her treat, half the size she would of were she alone, she sighed in simple pleasure when the taste hit her tongue.

It was the first morsel of food she'd had since lunchtime. And that was the previous day by this point.

He had returned to his sandwich in silence and she continued eating her comfort food straight from the container.

Once he'd finished what was in front of him she nudged the carton over and offered him her spoon.

They turned their heads to look at each other when their hands touched.

Now she took him in properly. He looked as though he'd gotten a little sleep, but signs of a hard few months couldn't be erased so quickly. He'd managed a shower though since the last time she'd seen him. His clothes were relatively cleaner as well.

That reminded her that she must look a fright. And smell it too. She hadn't stopped for anything, and it had been dirty and exhausting work.

When he looked at her she didn't see any disgust in his eyes. She saw the look he'd given her last year at this time when she'd caught the snitch and won the Quidditch game in his place. Full of intensity and determination.

Just like that, he pushed her offering away and wrapped a hand around the back of her neck, pulling her against him and capturing her lips.

She responded desperately, clutching the front of his shirt to make sure he didn't pull away. His tongue found its way into her mouth and he groaned in satisfaction of her allowed entrance. The hand not in her hair made a home on her hip and she rose slightly to get her leg over the bench seat before straddling his lap.

The two of them moaned appreciatively at the full body contact and rocked against each other.

Their lips never stopped touching as hands wandered. She caressed his back, ran her fingers through his hair, scratched his scalp in pleasure as the bulge in his trousers rocked against her center and she cried out against his mouth at the wonderful sensation it elicited.

She needed him to be closer. She could sense he was desperate for it too.

Swiping aside their dishes on the table beside her she rose slightly to pull him up and lay her down on the surface.

He followed her lead, still not breaking their frantic kisses.

There was nearly a year of their life that had been put on hold, and all those missed emotions and suppressed hormones were coming back with a vengeance.

The vengeance was making her dizzy and desperate for more.

Outside this room the world was showing them consequences of actions, horrible ones. She didn't care right now what consequences could potentially come from her finally having him back.

Alive.

Her unthinking hand went to his trousers, his own hand following her lead and grasping at her top button. The bottom half of their clothing shifted further down, and she freed one of her legs from the confines of her jeans and her knickers and that was enough to wrap her legs around him.

He reached down again and guided his erection against her entrance.

Slowly he filled her.

She ran her tongue along his and bit his lip as centimeter by centimeter he squeezed himself inside her and stretched her more than she'd ever been.

He started thrusting back and forth before he was fully seated inside her. The sensation made her need to disconnect their mouths and arch her head back in delicious pleasure.

But it wasn't enough.

He seemed to have adequate frame of mind to hold back from taking her completely. She wasn't having any of that. Not after waiting and wanting this for so long.

On his next forward thrust she locked her legs tightly around him and gave his forward momentum more than he'd intended.

A pain shot through her and made her gasp. It was as though someone had taken an elastic and snapped it against her lower belly, but it disappeared as fast as it came.

He had stilled on top of her.

Opening her eyes, she saw his eyes were closed tightly, and the concentration on his face. it looked as though it was causing him pain to wait until she gave him the okay to continue. Yet another small gesture to remind her that he would never stop giving her reasons to love him.

Her body relaxed and he must have felt that. His eyes opened at for a moment all they did was stare at each other in wonder.

This was really happening.

She was the first to move, sliding up and down as much as her body allowed. His eyes drifted closed and his body took over.

He had his elbow by her head for support. His other hand was gripping her hip tightly as his thrusts grew more and more confident.

A pressure was building inside her every time she ground herself against him when he was fully sheathed inside her. Her blood was pounding in her ears and all she could focus on was making the pressure grow more and more.

She grabbed his bum on his next forward thrust and locked her legs tightly around him so he would arrest his movements, and she ground hard against him. The pressure of him there, swirling around deep inside her and rocking against her clit.

A new pressure built up in her head and she stopped breathing for fear it would dissipate before allowing her this wonderful relief that was sure to hit her soon.

Her back arched forward and she buried her head in his neck as her whole body spasmed with a mind shattering pleasure she'd never been able to give herself. And sound she'd never heard before came out of her mouth and she lay her head back on the table, completely satiated.

Her legs relaxed their grip and he continued his thrusting once, twice, three times more before his movements became more jerks than thrusts and he let his whole weight press down on top of her. Both their bodies were completely relaxed, and she was very close to just fading away into dreamland.

The realization that they were in the kitchens, on top of a mini version of what was the Ravenclaw table, and anyone could come through the door made her push at him slightly to roll off her.

He rose up on his elbows and their eyes met again. There was a tenderness in his expression that she knew matched her own. It sent a tingle down her spine and arms, and a glow to her cheeks.

They kissed once more, gently and sweetly, each portraying no regret about what just happened.

He pulled back and then gave her one more short kiss before rolling to the side and shimmying up his trousers. She pulled on her own properly and sat up.

Harry was now standing awkwardly beside the table. She gave him a humorous smile and a shake of her head before sliding off the table top and pulling him to sit down on the bench beside her and dragging the carton of ice cream back in front of them, offering him the spoon once again.

He smiled warmly at her and accepted the spoon, wrapping one arm around her as he brought the treat to his mouth.

She tucked herself against his side and kissed his neck. He offered her a spoonful of the chocolate ice cream, and she let him feed it to her.

She could tell they both felt immensely better now.


	7. Cravat Cuffs

**The prompt was 'Bondage Smut' for this one-shot. Take that as a warning for all those that might have a problem with that.**

**Fair warning.**

The smooth fabric was wrapped tightly around her wrists, but not so much that it cut off circulation.

Unless she pulled and squirmed like she was currently doing. It couldn't be helped though. His hair was tickling the inside of her thighs and his tongue. Oh Merlin! His tongue was doing the most amazing job of getting her to want to buck her hips uncontrollably.

"Stop that now, or I'll have to get another tie to lock your hips in place." He threatened with the most seductive lilt to his voice.

Ginny bit her bottom lip to stop her whimpering from escaping.

This wasn't a new activity for them. And she wasn't the only one that spent time with his cravat securing one of them to their headboard with another one over their eyes. It made everything so much more intense when they couldn't see what the other was about to do next. The sense of touch was so elevated, and the anticipation just made it... delicious.

Getting to this point in their sex life had been quite gradual.

She could still remember being a child and being desperate to simply be his friend. Then when she was a little older, desperate to have him like her enough to kiss her. She'd fantasized about him pulling her against him and giving her one of those fairy tale kisses that are followed with a Happily Ever After, no further explanation of what that Ever After entailed (Surely the Hans Christian Anderson didn't have bondage in mind). And her naive mind at the time was craving only kisses and hand holding.

It was just after her fourteenth birthday that she'd touched herself for the first time and though about him while doing it. It had been so hard to look at her brothers' friend after that started. Then she got used to it. Her little self-serving sessions continued with Harry as the focus point of her imaginary trysts even while she was dating other boys. That continued to be the way of it once he finally showed her that he returned that affection she had for him. Their first kiss in the Gryffindor Common room was what her thirteen-year-old self-wanted, but her then fifteen-year-old self was hoping he'd stop hiding his erections while they were snogging, yet too shy to say anything about it.

Her libido had been muffled, but not gone, while he was on the run. Then her private moments were full of wistful scenarios where he would show up in her dorm room under his invisibility cloak and beg her to run away with him. Right after they made love for the first time, of course.

Once the war was over and they could be together again for real it had taken a while for that milestone to occur. It turned out that each of them wanted desperately to be with the other, but they were both too damned polite and cautious. Then it wasn't until after she'd finished Hogwarts and they started regularly having sex that each finally opened up about how much they'd really thought about each other during those beginning stages when they were pleasuring themselves in private.

After that the flood gates holding back their true sexual appetites were released.

Not that they immediately dove into a world of S&M with a new kink of the week, but new positions and locations to try that had once been longed for by each of them silently were now spoken and they had both been very receptive to it.

Their honeymoon was when she introduced something else to their bedroom activities. This one was going to remain in the bedroom.

Toys.

Her sister-in-laws had dragged her into a sex shop for her wedding night boudoir and that was where she'd seen them for the first time. She'd known about vibrators and dildo's, but there were so many other things that she saw intrigued her.

Ginny went back to that store alone. Thankfully it was in the Muggle world so she wouldn't be recognized; The caption on a Daily Prophet photo of her in there would have been terribly embarrassing. There were just so many different plastic things of all shapes and sizes that were designed to do all kinds of things to a man and woman. Quite a few of them caused a stirring sensation inside her, but she stepped into this new idea cautiously and only purchased one small thing that she hoped Harry wouldn't be incredulous about.

He definitely wasn't, and that small thing would only be an incredulous idea to them now because of _how_ small it was.

While their toy drawer in their bedroom now held several options of pleasure devices, Harry's ties also did their job of both making him look dignified outside their bedroom and restraining one of the two of them after he removed it from around his neck after whatever event they'd had to go to. It was the only reason he no longer minded going to the stuffy Ministry Events. He recognized the look in his wife's eye every time she saw him in one and reflected that right back at her.

They had been at a grand opening function for a wing at St. Mungo's tonight and Harry had been asked to cut the ceremonial ribbon. Every time she looked at him and her eyes trailed down to his tie then back to his eyes she was rewarded with a slight darkening of his iris'. As soon as was respectable they begged out of the event and Apparated back to their home, their mouths attacked each other and hands wandered as they sloppily made their way to the bedroom with shoes and jewelry being discarded on the stairs and in the hall so they could get naked faster.

She'd managed to get her dress unzipped and down over her arms before he grabbed her by the wrists and quickly tied her hands together in front of her and summoned another tie from his closet to wrap around her eyes. She was unceremoniously picked up and tossed on their bed, bouncing once before his legs straddled her chest whilst he secured her to the head board. Her dress was yanked the rest of the way off as were her knickers before he slowed down and started torturing her.

She tried to steady her breathing as he trailed a single finger down the inside of her arms, passed it over her lips then down her neck each movement was so slow, so deliberate. The building anticipation making every new place he touched send a jolt to her nethers.

As his finger traced down between her breast, she arched her back into it and felt his free hand slip beneath her to release the clasp of her strapless bra. The pressure of the bra was replaced by his mouth and hand. He nipped, sucked and nuzzled to his heart's content while she writhed with want, getting ridiculously wet. His warm torso was pressed between her legs with his erection pressing against her upper thigh and she tried not to rock herself against him. Tried very hard to be a good girl.

This was the game, you see.

She was tied up and had to try and remain as still as possible while he did whatever he wanted to her until he was buried balls deep inside her. It was his job to make her cave and beg for it. He could do anything; bite, massage, finger her, slap her ass, anything. It was the same when she had him tied up.

His trick was his tongue. Using it on her clit until she was about to lose it and then stopping until she calmed down, then using it again. It was pure torture.

Though, he would probably say the same thing of her method of straddling his face, just far enough away from him that he couldn't touch her center with-out moving his head while she went down on him. She too stopped just before he finished. Use of her nails on him was another thing that seemed to get him worked up. If she scratched slowly down his back or at the inside of his thighs, she could draw out this luxurious groan from him.

She couldn't help rocking against his tongue right now though. He was just too damn talented with it. She'd be getting a punishment if she didn't open her mouth and beg for it now, and she absolutely didn't want that to happen. Punishments resulted in unfulfillment of the bound. If she didn't beg for it but moved too much, then he'd be allowed to get his orgasm however he wanted, and she wouldn't.

It was a farce of course. Once she was unbound, she would demand he finish her off, but it wouldn't be the same.

"Ginny." He warned. "Last time." He said dangerously and brought a hand under her bum to knead her there before dipping one finger inside her and swirling it around, then trailing that finger back out and pressing it gently against her rear entrance.

She whimpered, pulling at the restraints, and tried to keep herself from pulling her legs up to assist with his movement.

His mouth hadn't lowered back to her clit, instead he blew a cold breath over it that forced a shiver to run through her body. Before the shiver had subsided, he'd dipped his coated finger inside her ass and her whole body, save for her sphincter, had tensed up to stop from accidentally making any other movement. As he began pumping his finger in and out of her he pressed his tongue back to circle over her clit and she unconsciously tugged at her tied hands again.

It had happened once before that he'd done this, and her orgasm had shot through her like a Catherine Wheel that just kept on spinning through her body. He'd replaced his finger with his straining erection, and she had dived right into another mind shattering orgasm right before he'd gotten his.

This time he may be hoping for that happen again, but she didn't know if she could control her movements much longer.

His tongue and finger were working in tandem. Every time he'd slightly withdraw his finger his tongue would swirl over the crest of her clit. He may as well have been double penetrating her with the sensations rocking through her body. Her thighs were clenching and her Kegel muscles were demanding they have their regular intruder pay a visit NOW.

When he paused his movements to push her finish away all thoughts of fighting were over. Her head turned side to side and her feet came up to his hips, trying to get him to raise up her body, and to lower his pants at the same time. "Please!" She cried out in defeat. "Fuck me! Please Harry."

It didn't matter that she was blindfolded, she knew a victorious and predatory glint would be in his eye. He removed his finger and gripped her under her knees to lift them up over his shoulders. With only a moment of anticipation while he removed his pants, she felt him press his erection against her dripping wetness and sharply take occupation inside her.

Now she was allowed to move and grind herself against him, allowed to groan loudly at his thrusts.

He was up on his knees, holding her up and gripping her hips so tightly they'd bruise as he repeatedly drove into her at his own pace, matching her groans. Then he leaned down over her, essentially folding her in half and grinding himself deep inside her the way he knew would set her off.

And it did.

Her orgasm shot through her with a loud cry. He didn't let her ride it out either, as sharply as he'd dived into her, he withdrew. Victor's choice, he could get his end however he wanted now, and his previous action had already told her what that would involve. He withdrew from her satisfied pussy and brought it just over an inch lower and eased it inside her slowly as she arched her back at the intrusion, Harry waited for his size to be accommodated with a satisfied groan as he passed through her built-in cock ring and was given free range of movement.

"Fuck you feel so good." He groaned, his exclamation nearly drowned out as her pants and groans grew louder.

It had surprised the both of them how much this act brought them pleasure, particularly because it had sounded like such a disgusting thing to try. Now it was a joy she let them experience about once a month.

Her legs fell from his shoulders and wrapped around his middle as he pounded into her, relieving her over stretched hips and allowing her body to focus more on the mounting pleasure that was again building deep in her pelvis.

"I'm, I'm." She started as it was obvious she was about to have another orgasm.

"Yeah you are." He said before he crushed his lips to hers and muffled her cry as her next orgasm took hold of her. "So. Tight" He growled through gritted teeth right before he too let out a strangled cry. His thrusts slowed to a stop and his weight settled on top of her while they both came down from their high.

She was still completely trapped by him and tied up with the blindfold, and yet entirely relaxed.

Harry nuzzled into her neck before he began giving little kisses to every part of her chest he could reach with-out raising himself up, then up to her lips for a thorough and lazy snog. His hand moved up her arm and he tugged at the tie to release the knot. She wriggled her hands out and wrapped her arms around his neck and into his hair to continue their lazy kiss until he pulled back and removed the other tie from around her eyes.

The fresh light had her vision distorted for a moment before she could focus on his eyes. He looked as content as she felt. They both usually were after a good go around.

He nuzzled back into her neck as he withdrew and she reached over to the night stand to grab her wand and clean up the mess neither wanted to look at and tossed it back onto the stand before Harry rolled over onto his back and pulled her against his side, killing the lights with his own wand, and they both fell instantly to sleep.


	8. Crass

**AN- This is an AU where Harry never told Ginny how he felt about her at Hogwarts. To the Ginny Lovers Discord group, this one checks off 'Burrow Smut' on the Bingo card :)**

**()()**

Ginny was grumbling at herself. Before leaving the flat three hours ago she'd told herself, no, _promised_ herself that this time she'd have more control over her responses to that inane and inevitable question. She wouldn't just purse her lips into a tight smile and force a polite "I guess we'll just have to wait and see." This time she was going to simply redirect the questions and not let it bug her so much.

George was marrying Angelina today. And she was ridiculously happy for them. It had taken quite a lot to get George to this point after Fred died, now he was happy which made all the rest of the Weasley's happy.

If only her nosy distant relatives and other invited guests could keep their stupid questions to themselves. _"Oh! Why Ginny, it looks like you are the last one, when do you think it will be your turn?"_ Always some freaking variation of that. And, no, she wasn't the last one. Charlie wasn't married, but he was a big burly man that lived in Romania with dragons. Apparently, that meant that he was allowed to be a bachelor for life. But because she had ovaries she was expected to settle down with some random guy and get to procreating already.

Bloody wankers, all of them.

She was a professional Quidditch player for fucks sake! Why couldn't they ask her about that?

And she knew, KNEW, that even if she did find someone to settle down with her mum would have something to say about her still being young, and her brothers would give him such a hard time that he'd run for the hills. So, what was the point?

Actually, she'd used that to her advantage before. The brothers giving a hard time bit. She hadn't been able to shake off a boyfriend she'd lost interest in by polite methods, and for some reason telling him flat out that they were over hadn't seemed like an option, so she'd brought him to the Burrow. It had turned out to be a brilliant plan because at the end of the night he'd wound up breaking up with her.

She snickered to herself at the memory.

"Something funny?" A male voice asked close to her left ear.

"Lee." She greeted with a smile. He'd been in the groom's party and they hadn't had a chance to chat yet. George and Angelina were off getting a few photos taken and everyone else was supposed to be mingling. "Done with your part for the photo's then?"

"Yep, made sure to only moon the camera once when no one else was looking." He beamed.

"My, my, keeping it rather classy then." She joked.

He looked rather proud of himself. "Yep. So, who'd you bring?" He looked around as if trying to guess.

"Flying solo." She responded quickly.

"Really? Not seeing anyone? How is that possible? You're the last-"

"You finish that, and I'll pour my drink on you then push you in the pond." She growled, cutting him off. "And I'm not the last one! Charlie's still single too."

Lee looked more amused than taken back by her response. "Yeah, well that won't change until interspecies marriages are allowed. You on the other hand."

"Will marry my Nimbus when that is allowed then." She rolled her eyes then looked around. "Who did you invite?"

"Please." He shook his head in a scoff. "I'm in my sexual prime, as if I'd bring a date to a wedding." He gave her a look up and down. "Speaking of which, have I told you lately how nicely you've grown up? A vision really." He lowered his voice and leaned closer.

"Pass." She told him easily enough rebuffing his attempt. He'd been making comments like that to her for years and whether they were true or not she just couldn't make herself think of him that way. His ideas about picking up at a wedding weren't so bad though. Looking over his shoulder she began scanning the crowd for any potential suitors.

The guests were all people that she knew or knew of. That severely limited any hooking up potential. And the majority of the young and good-looking men invited all had girlfriends or wives.

"Had to give it a shot." Lee replied with a shrug. "Another drink?" He asked, indicating that her wine glass was dangerously close to empty.

She stared down into the small amount of yellow-ish white liquid left swirling in the bottom of the glass. She'd need at least three more of them before the dance floor was an option. "Something stronger maybe." She nodded before downing the rest of it. "And then maybe you can help me come up with an appropriate response to all these pricks asking when my wedding is."

Lee snorted. "Any contenders even for the groom?" He asked as they made their way to the bar.

That question bummed her out more than anything else. Yes, she received requests for dates regularly, but only because she flew for the Holyhead Harpies. And she'd had a couple of those dates a few years ago, but it got old really quick. Those fan boys had either wanted to use her as a sort of show off piece at a party or they'd just stared at her through a meal. It was annoying.

"Haven't had a proper contender for a few months now." She muttered loud enough for him to hear as they stood up against the bar waiting for the bartender.

"Months?" He asked her incredulously and looked down. "Sure, everything still works at this point?" He teased.

Luckily Lee was someone she felt comfortable enough to talk casually about such things and didn't get offended. "Not to worry. I check it often enough myself." She winked.

There was a choking sound on the other side of her and she turned to see Harry Potter holding a pint glass a few inches from his lips and trying to stop some of the liquid he'd choked on from dripping down on his suit. He'd clearly overheard her and knew what she'd meant.

She glanced back at Lee with a big smile before turning back to Harry.

"Hey Harry. You doing okay there? Need a napkin?" She offered, picking up a cocktail napkin to hand him.

He cleared his throat again and accepted the napkin to wipe his chin. "Good." He managed. "Yeah. I'm good. Thanks." He smiled politely and nodded to Lee before awkwardly bobbing on his feet twice and then saying nothing else before backing away from them and turning to head off into the sea of other people.

Ginny shook her head. She'd had such a major crush on him but had long ago lost all hope that anything would have come of it. He'd always either been too wrapped up with defeating Voldemort or running the Quidditch team to pay her much mind at school, and even after all that was done, he was just so... awkward around her. Like he had no idea what he could possibly talk to a girl about. He was constantly reminding her of what Michael Corner had been like when he first asked her out. All flustered and unsure.

It would have been nice if that's what was going on there. He was still attractive to her after all these years and that suit was doing all kinds of good things to point out his nice body. The tie he'd chosen matched his eyes. But trying to figure out Harry Potter was best left for his two best friends.

Lee managed to capture the attention of the bartender and Ginny pushed her thoughts out of her head. She was going to have a few with Lee, come up with some snappy comments to use the next time some foolish idiot asked her about her non-existent nuptials and then dance the night away while she looked for someone to dust her off down there.

That was exactly what she did.

By the time dinner was over and the dancing had properly commenced she'd been just inebriated enough that her anger at everyone daring to ask her about her love life was now met with her hilarity. Hilarity that was made all the more enjoyable when the receiver looked thoroughly offended.

'That'll teach em'!' She thought as they all extricated themselves from a conversation with her. Luckily none of her comments had made it to her parents. Or her brothers. Well, maybe just Bill and Percy would have something to say to her about them. George and Charlie understood that she was a 23-year-old woman that liked to give people exactly what they deserved. She wasn't sure what Ron would make of it.

Grabbing an empty wine glass off of a table she filled it up with the table white and scanned the crowd to find said brother and say hello to he and the missus.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Definitely not on the dancefloor. Nope. Those tables were too close to the fun. Scanning farthest tables where one could hold 'meaningful conversation', she rolled her eyes. Yep. There they were. The Golden Trio.

"Hello all!" She plonked herself into an empty seat at their six-seater table. "Planning your next bank heist?" She teased.

"Ginny!" Hermione asked, sounding unduly scandalized. "How much have you had to drink?"

"Oh, don't worry." Ginny waved her off. "I'm maintaining my buzz quite well. How about you three?"

"I've just cut them off. Don't tell me I need to do the same to you." She admonished.

Ginny gave her brother a close inspection. He didn't look anywhere near as drunk as she was, and he seemed slightly sour about it, but not enough to have to endure a fight with his wife about it. She looked over to Harry. He didn't look drunk at all, but he probably never got truly drunk. He couldn't risk anything winding up in the Prophet about him having a good time.

"That sounds like fun." She commented dryly.

Ron caught sight of something over her shoulder and let out a silent groan. Ginny turned around and saw that Auntie Muriel was on her way over. That would normally make her let out a silent groan too, but not right now.

"Oh. This is going to be good." She told Ron conspiratorially and he gave her a bewildered look in response.

"Ginevra." Muriel greeted her tersely once she'd occupied the seat beside her.

"Aunt Muriel." Ginny replied back mimicking the same tone.

"Ronald." Muriel nodded to her great nephew before turning back to Ginny. "Now, when will you be making me attend your own wedding? You are getting quite old to be single."

Ginny gave her a big smile. "Soon as I've shagged all the bachelors and chosen my favorite." She announced loudly.

"Ginny!" Hermione nearly screeched.

"Excuse me?" Muriel asked. "What did you say?"

"Oh yeah." Ginny continued on feeling a thrill at how she was going to completely offend her Aunt. "There are far too many delicious looking blokes out there for me to settle on just one! In fact, I probably shouldn't limit my little encounters to just one bloke at a time though, should I? Might speed up the process to do two at once." She pretended to think it over.

"Ginny! That is hardly a safe thing to do. Or smart." Hermione continued. Ron wore wide eyes and a gaping mouth, Harry meanwhile raised his eyebrows at her and pursed his lips slightly with his jaw clenching.

"You know what. You're right. I should just keep it to one at a time. One at a time is much safer." Ginny told her. "Particularly when I've got them secured to the headboard."

"Ginny!" Ron finally found his voice.

"Oh, don't worry, Ron." She looked over at Muriel. "They like it." She said in a low and seductive voice with an exaggerated wink. Then she looked over to Hermione. "Hey. Have you ever heard of Ice Cubing?"

The rasping breath of her Aunt raising from her seat and huffing away from the table made Ginny break out in giggles. She had to rest her head down on the cloth because her body was convulsing with shaking laughter too hard to hold it up.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Ron asked loudly.

When her head came up, she saw Ron and Hermione looking at his as though she'd gone mad. Harry though just looked... mad. Whatever. She'd long given up trying to make sense of him. And everything was just so funny right now. She'd finally scared off Great Aunt Bitch.

"Relax would you." She giggled. "I'm tired of everyone prying into my personal life, now I'm making damn sure they never think to again. And it feels fantastic!" She emphasized her point with a big drink of her wine glass.

"I think you've had enough." Hermione tried to take away her glass. When Ginny struggled to keep it, Hermione gave up and waved her wand, turning it from wine to water.

"How rude." Ginny gave her a fake scowl. There were plenty other bottles around for her to exchange her glass for. Hermione was just a party pooper. As she was reaching for the bottle on the table Hermione moved that away from her too. "Fine. I get it, I'll leave." She stood and had to grab on to Ron's chair to find her balance.

"Harry, would you mind helping Ginny back to her room?" Hermione nearly growled at him while scowling at Ginny.

"Ugh! You can't be serious!" Ginny scoffed. "Just because you lot aren't having any fun doesn't mean you have to stop the rest of us."

"GINNY." And angry voice called from behind her that had her freezing in her spot.

Shit. Shit. Shit. That bitch had tattled on her.

Her mum grabbed her above the elbow and spun her around. "What did you just say to Muriel?"

"What?" Ginny asked meekly. "I don't know what she said, but she'd just been asking about my personal life is all." Ginny leaned closer to her mum. "Think she might have had too much to drink." She told her only able to feign an attempt at telling her that quietly.

"I've just asked Harry to escort her back to her room." Hermione pipped up, ever the bloody girl scout.

"Thank you dear. I think that is a good idea." Her mum glared at Ginny, who pouted.

"Fine." She conceded petulantly and turned to exit the tent. She heard Harry dutifully follow in behind her. "I know how to get to my room." She called behind her, she could see it right in front of her for Merlin's sake. The marquee was only set up three hundred feet from the Burrow, it wasn't that hard. In fact, it was an easier walk back to the house than it had been to navigate through those tables and people.

"I know you do." He replied, catching her elbow when her heel dug into the grass and she listed slightly. "Just doing as asked."

"Urgh. Don't you ever tire of being a good little boy all the time." Ginny asked in a pout and pried her elbow out of his grasp and continued to the house. "I'm not even that drunk." She argued and pushed her way into the kitchen. "There. I'm in the house." She turned to him with a sweeping arm gesture and a mocking congratulatory tone.

"They said 'room'." He told her.

She'd never seen his eyes as dark green as they now appeared to her. There was something about the way he'd said 'room' that had given her pause to study him then. He took a step closer to her with the most serious of expression on his face. "So, let's get you to your room." Now she could smell it. He hadn't just been drinking ale all night. That was Firewhiskey on his breath. She inhaled deeply, savoring the cinnamon on his breath that she could almost taste on her tongue. He was drunk! Easily as drunk as she was. Boy, could he hold his liquor then.

He looked dangerous standing over her like that. But she wasn't scared, in fact it was causing a building warmth to pool between her legs.

She turned around and started heading in the direction of the stairs. This wasn't happening. She was imagining it. It had been far too long since she'd been shagged, and the wine was making her loopy. Maybe she _should_ go to sleep.

She could feel him behind her as she ascended the stairs to the second-floor landing. With a slightly shaking hand she turned the knob to her room and the door swung in. She hadn't slept in this room for a few years, but it looked exactly as she'd left it. Sparse with an empty dresser and just the bed. Her mum had put fresh sheets on it though, probably figuring someone would be needing to sleep there.

No lamps needed to be lit with the amount of light resonating from the tent through the window.

"Okay." She gave a hard swallow and stepped fully into her room. "I'm in my room now. Good. Good job." She stuttered slightly.

The door shut behind her and she let out a little breath of disappointment. What she'd expected to happen she wasn't sure, but he'd gotten her a surprising amount of worked up. He hadn't had that effect on her in years, and back then it had all been in her mind.

"Yes." His voice came from behind her, inside the room, and caused her to jump and spin around.

"Y-yes?" She asked. They were alone in a room together. The last time they'd been alone in a room together had been-

Whoa! Don't think about the Chamber now! Now? Of all the times?

"Yes what?" She managed as he took a step closer to her.

"Yes. I do get tired of being a good little boy." He answered easily, but with an edge to his voice. "I get tired of everyone thinking that I'm the 'Golden Boy' and make only good decisions. Sometimes I want to make bad decisions." He stepped closer to her. "Sometimes I want to drink too much at a wedding and tell everyone to fuck right off in my own funny way." He said pointedly with a smirk she'd never seen appear on his face before. It looked good on him. "Sometimes I just want to make the terrible decision of getting a woman I want back to her room and see what else she likes do to besides tying up men and... ice cubing."

He stepped forward again so he was pressed against her front and she could feel how aroused he was. He was warm and smelled good and was making her nethers stir with screaming want.

"So." His hand went behind her to rest on the small of her back. "How drunk are you exactly?" The pressure he placed on her back increased slightly and she was pressed more firmly against him.

"You want me?" She breathed out.

He dipped his head and rubbed his nose against hers gently. Her eyes closed in an effort to amplify the feeling of his skin on hers. "Desperately." He answered quietly, his member twitched against her stomach.

It was probably going to turn out to be a bad idea. He was clearly drunk, but so was she. And, he was always awkward around her when sober, would them having a drunken shag make things any more awkward?

Ginny reached down to her thigh and sealed the door shut, silencing it as well and then casting a contraceptive charm on herself.

As soon as he heard her finish casting the contraceptive charm his mouth was on hers. Ginny gave no pause before matching his movements and letting out a satisfying hum. He held the back of her head and she could taste the cinnamon properly now as their tongues met. How had they not done this sooner? He groaned as she rocked herself against him, taking charge she walked him back to the wall and fit herself firmly against him, tangling her hands in his hair. She'd thought about what it would feel like to run her fingers through this hair and it was so much silkier than she'd imagined.

Everything was better than what she'd imagined. His lips were soft but firm as they claimed her own, his hands traveling down over her bum and kneading her there felt so much better. And his dick. Oh, she'd spent ages wondering over what his dick would be like. Would it be long? Short? Thin? Fat? Would it curve slightly or be straight? Was he uncut?

And how would it taste?

That last thought made her pull back from his mouth and blink at him. She wanted to taste him there.

Fumbling with the button on his trouser she felt his hands go to the zip on the back of her dress. From all she could feel of him pressed up against her belly he was well endowed, straight and thick with a good amount of length. She should have gotten drunk and alone with him sooner.

His trousers now loosened as he slid the straps of her dress over her shoulders and it fell down her chest to catch on her arms. She reached behind her to release her strapless bra and tossed it behind her. He stopped her from making her next move of lowering to her knees when he turned them around, so she was pressed up against the wall. He pulled down on her dress so hard that there was a ripping noise and it bunched at her feet.

He grabbed at her mid-thigh forcefully and she couldn't help following the movement and wrapping her legs around him when he buried his face in her breasts. His breathy exclamation of 'Finally' had made her wonder a moment on his meaning, but then he was nuzzling and licking her there and it felt so good that her head fell back, and she rocked her pelvis against him again.

She whimpered as her body demanded more and rocked against him more aggressively.

He pulled her back from the wall and carried her to the bed, effectively tossing her down on it in just her knickers and heels while he stood before her fully dressed with only his trousers open and his tenting boxers poking out between the undone zipper.

He grabbed to pull off his tie first, eyes on her the whole time, and she scrambled to sit before him with her legs on either side of him, looking up at his face while she slowly pulled the waist of his boxers down over his erection. He let out a hiss as he was exposed to the air. She looked down at what lay directly in front of her and felt tingles all over herself as her assumptions of what she'd felt were confirmed. He was thicker and slightly longer than the toy she'd been using on herself these past few months. Her lower muscles clenched in anticipation of what would soon be buried inside her.

Not before her mouth had a chance to give a quick hello however.

Harry pulled his tie over his head and started hastily undoing the buttons on his shirt when she gripped him at the base and took what she could of him into her mouth. His hands fell to her head then, not to guide her, or force any movements on her part. "Fuck." Was all she could hear between the satisfied groans he was eliciting.

It had been too long since she'd done this. It wasn't a movement that her jaw was familiar with and it was protesting. She pulled back and tugged his trousers and boxers down to his knee and ripped the remainder of the buttons off his shirt then moved back on the bed to indicate to him it was time they both get horizontal.

Harry didn't need more than that. He pulled the rest of his clothes off quickly and pulled her heels off, climbing up her body and pressing his face into her knickers. Ginny let out a moan as he nuzzled her there and gasped when he gave her a soft bite to her cloth covered clit. He continued his nuzzling as his hands ran smoothly up her sides to her breast and he palmed them for only a moment before bringing his hands down and hooking a finger in her knickers on either hip and pulling them down her legs.

Ginny grabbed for his shoulders and pulled him back to lay on top of her, claiming his lips again while their bodies lined up perfectly. He gave her a deep kiss as his hand came between them and he grabbed himself, twirling his head against her slick entrance twice before pushing inside her slowly and completely.

It was her turn to let out profanity while she clutched at his arm and side attempting to adjust to the feeling of being so full. "Finally." He groaned again and buried his face in the crook of her neck, giving a few long licks and hard sucks as he began thrusting inside her.

The pressure of him on top of her and thrusting completely inside her was something she couldn't recreate herself. She hooked her legs around his knees and did what she could to meet his thrusts, her moans getting louder with ever slapping sound that resonated through the room at their joining. He was going back and forth between grabbing at her hip and clutching behind her shoulder to force them to meet in a harder movement.

The harder movements were making her cry out in pleasure, but when he switched to a grinding movement that put more pressure on her clit, she thought she was going to pass out from how good it felt. Her hands clutched at his bum, nails digging in to try and stop him from even considering a different movement. Her orgasm was growing inside her with every swirl of his hips. Proper brain function shut off as all focus went to making sure the feeling in her belly grew as much as possible before the inevitable shockwaves rocked her body.

He started licking and sucking at a spot under her ear and her walls began clenching around him. "Yes. Yes. Ye-" She cried out as her whole body spasmed and the wave crashed over her, her walls gripping his dick as hard as they could, pelvis rocking against his in a way meant to draw out the sensations for as long as possible.

It didn't register with her at that moment, but he must have been incredibly patient to give her a moment reprieve before he started thrusting inside her again with a building velocity. It had been so long since she'd last had sex and wasn't familiar with the feeling of being taken like this so soon after she'd cum. She was sensitive to every thrust, but not painfully so.

It felt wonderful.

She began building to another orgasm herself before he gave the unmistakable final jabbing thrusts of a man reaching his own climax. He collapsed on top of her and they lay there a sweaty panting tangle of limbs completely satisfied.

Ginny's head was still spinning slightly from the wine and she could have easily just snuggled into him and fallen asleep, but something was holding her in place as she gained control of her breathing again.

This was Harry Potter that had just shagged her. He was Ron's best friend and an honorary part of her family. Surely as drunk as he was, he wouldn't have just followed her dutifully to her room and shagged her like that with no thought behind it.

"Finally?" She asked aloud. He'd said it twice. "Why 'finally'?" Her head turned to look over at him.

He was already staring down at her when her eyes met his. The expression on his face was tender and conflicted. He gave a hard swallow. "I may have been wanting to do that for a long time."

"Get laid?" She asked shakily, trying to put an amused tone to her voice and not quite succeeding.

The slightly dazed look in his eyes cleared up and he shifted uncomfortably giving off the impression that he was going to get up. She grabbed at his arm to encourage him to stay where he was and continue talking.

"Do what, Harry?" She asked. "Me?"

He nodded slowly.

Her chest deflated at the surprise. "You've wanted to shag me? For how long?" The battle of thoughts in his brain was obvious to her through his expression and it didn't look like he was going to be able to give her a verbal answer. "Tonight?" He shook his head 'no' slowly. "A year?" His pause told her it was perhaps longer. "Since I joined the Harpies?" That had been five years ago, and she'd had a few pin-up style promotional photos taken that could have been what put the want for her in his head.

He let out a pained sigh. "Remember when Ron and I caught you and Dean?" He croaked.

'Dean?!' She wondered. When the hell had they. "No!" She got up on her elbows and stared at him in shock. "That was what? Eight years ago?"

He groaned and rubbed a hand over his face.

"But then, why didn't you do anything before now? You've had loads of opportunities. Did you really think I'd turn you down?"

"What?" He asked in awe. "But. But I thought you'd moved on from, you know, that crush you had on me." His voice sounded so hopeful.

She couldn't help but laugh at that. "I don't still have a crush on you, no. Because I'm not a thirteen-year-old girl anymore, but I'm not blind either. I've always been attracted to you, I just worked at ignoring it because I figured it was never going to happen."

His eyes were wide regarding her. "But. So, you want me too?" He asked awkwardly.

"Is that why you were always so weird around me?" She asked abruptly.

His expression turned bashful. "Yeah. I, er, see. Every time I got close to you, I'd. Well, you smell really good, and you're. Um."

She tilted her head at him and then caught on with a gasp. "I'd what? Give you an erection?" His little half smile of a response was enough to send her into hysterics. "Oh Merlin! And you got shit faced tonight for the liquid courage to jump me, or was the opportunity just too good to pass up and you were liquored up enough to give it a go?"

"The drinking was due to your comment at the bar." He admitted with a laugh of his own. "Then after what you said to Muriel, I was bursting to get you alone, if Hermione hadn't have suggested it, I would have. I'd had enough liquid courage in me then."

"Huh." She lay back down beside him and cuddled up against him. "So... where you just hoping for a leg over, or..."

"Hoping for a little more than that." He admitted shyly.

It was amazing to her that she'd been making the Hero of the Wizarding World a shy, horny and awkward person for near a decade. "You were even awkward around me when you had girlfriends."

He lay back and looked up at the ceiling, apparently unable to look at her for this answer."Just because I'd resigned myself to seeing other people didn't mean I wasn't still ridiculously attracted to you."

She couldn't help nearly glowing with pleasure at that and hugging herself to him. "Well, you've got me now."

He embraced her and smiled into her hair and tugging her closer. "I'll try not to be awkward anymore." He joked.

"Don't you dare." She warned and her hand wandered between them to stroke him.

**To the Ginny Lovers Discord group, this one checks off 'Burrow Smut' on the Bingo card :)**


	9. Compulsion Potion

**AN- For the 'Playing with Potions prompt'. It wasn't Harry or Ginny playing with the potions however. It was everyone's favorite joke shop proprietor.**

**Another one of those one-shots where Harry and Ginny didn't get together at Hogwarts.**

**()()**

**Compulsion Potion- Among other things**

**()()()**

It was as he was coming back out of the bathroom into the hallway at the Burrow that he came out of his black-out and consciousness returned. What the time was, whether he'd been still downstairs carrying on with everyone or if he'd already gone up to bed for the night before using the facilities he wasn't sure. There wasn't the usual feeling running through him that he recognized from previous nights of intoxication. His head should have felt fuzzy, there should have been a team of garden gnomes doing a clog dance behind his forehead, and his stomach should be rolling. None of those things were happening. He may as well have been sleep walking.

Or perhaps Hermione or Molly made him take Hang-over potion before he passed out. That was much more reasonable.

There was something though, something was off with his body. He just couldn't figure out what and it was nagging at him. He smacked his mouth open and closed a few times, trying to figure out what the taste was. Whether it had been the spirits he'd been drinking, or if he'd thrown up.

Harry turned back into the bathroom and to the sink, grabbing the toothpaste he simply shot a good amount into his mouth and sloshed it around until he felt minty fresh. Leaning over the sink he spat it out then looked up at the mirror and saw himself.

He looked fine. Hair maybe a little messier than usual. There wasn't graffiti covering his forehead like there had been the last time he'd tied one on with George around. That was a win.

Straining his ears now that his head was clearer, he couldn't hear anything going on downstairs, or up.

It must be late then.

He went to use the toilet and pulled his trousers down. Whether he'd just had a wee he couldn't recall, but he may as well give it a go again while he was here. He tugged down his pants enough to free himself and took hold to aim, then winced slightly. He was a little more sensitive there than usual.

What the fuck?

It was like he'd just had a wank.

Is that why he'd been in the bathroom? To have a wank before bed?

Whatever. He shook his head and finished up, washed his hands and face. Ginny's room was right across from the bathroom and her door was open. His feet carried them over to stand in her doorway. There was enough light coming through the windows from outside that he could make out the large objects in her room. Her dresser, a chair, and Ginny laying in her bed.

She was laying on top of her sheets and his breath hitched at the sight of her. Her hair was fanned out on her pillows and she looked so beautiful laying there. Even more so in her summer nightgown. One which had ridden up her legs and was giving him an eyeful of her thighs. One's which were currently spread enough that they looked so inviting. If he were standing on the other side of the room he would have had a very lovely sight from that angle.

He couldn't think like that though. He'd worked really hard not to think like that anymore. He closed her door as quietly as possible, then headed up to bed and fell asleep immediately.

()()

Ginny stretched out in her bed as the morning sun shone through the window. She inhaled deeply as the scent of cooking bacon drifted under her door and straight through her nose to her empty belly. It had been a while since she'd been home for a visit. Her flat mates were never up earlier than she and she was always the one to put on the kettle and get a semblance of breakfast ready before they got up. This was a nice change.

She blinked her eyes open properly and tried to figure out how much sleep she'd gotten. She couldn't remember coming to bed last night. Or drinking very much either. But even if she had overindulged a bit, she would have had a headache to prove it this morning, instead she felt fine. Head and belly seemed business as usual.

With one more lazy stretch she sat up and swung her feet over the side of her bed and stood up. She took a step towards the dresser and let out a small gasp as she winced in pain.

What the fuck?

Ginny looked down and put her hand to the inside of her thighs. She pulled up her sleep dress and felt the inside of her thighs. They were tender, but there wasn't any bruising that she could see. What on earth had she done last night? Ridden her old broom a little too hard? Fallen jumping over one of their wooden fences? Attempting a stupid stunt while intoxicated wasn't completely unbelievable.

She brushed off any concern at that realistic probability and made for the bathroom.

Sitting on the toilet for her morning wee she couldn't believe how good she felt considering she couldn't remember most of the previous evening. The last thing she remembered was George handing her a glass of Firewhiskey.

Urgh! She rested her hands in her face with a groan. She'd accepted a drink from George! That was it!

How entirely stupid of her. George was always trying to use his friends and family as guinea pigs for his little experiments.

She finished up on the loo and went to the sink, shooting the toothpaste directly into her mouth and sloshing it around while she searched the drawers for an unused toothbrush and coming up with nothing. With a roll of her eyes in irritation she ran her tongue over her teeth as best she could to get the buildup off and spat into the sink, washing her hands and face before toweling off and heading down to the kitchen.

"Morning." She greeted her mum with a kiss on the cheek.

"Ginny." Her mum's tone for her greeting hinted amusement and disapproval. That was a clear indication that she'd done something stupid last night.

"Alright." She bowed her head slightly with a sigh. "What did I do?" She asked and went to the cupboard to grab a mug for her coffee.

"It wasn't just you. The boys were fairly drunk as well, however you and Harry both seemed to have some impulse control issues last night." She chuckled. With all her children being grown up and moved out of her house she'd become very lax about their behavior. They'd been through several horrible situations in their life, she knew they worked hard too and needed to blow off steam once in a while.

What her mother told her about Harry made sense. George was always trying to get Harry to loosen up, and Ginny had just been another unwitting victim in his experiment.

Even when it was just the family around it took a few beverages for Harry to relax and joke around properly. Instigating a joke or even conversation wasn't something he was known for. Even after all these years it seemed to surprise him now and then that he was considered one of the family, and they expected him to act accordingly.

She would have liked to remember any of him behaving instinctively last night though.

"The last thing I remember was accepting a glass of something from George." She filled her cup. "What shenanigans did I get up to exactly?"

"Oh, nothing too crazy. You jumped in the pond, did a little dancing, attempted to fly two brooms at once. Then we sent you and Harry to bed and didn't hear from either of you for the rest of the night." Her mum told her easily enough.

That wasn't so bad. She'd slept great anyhow.

Sitting down with a big plate of breakfast she sipped her coffee and ate slowly as her mother filled her in on what she couldn't remember from the previous night. Antics that Harry and her brothers had gotten up to, and she and Harry trying to one up each other with this and that. Including jumping over the bonfire they'd all been enjoying.

"Well, I'm not hung over, that's a plus." She shrugged. George was going to get it from her for giving her something that erased her memories of the previous night and had her acting on her impulses, but what's done is done. At least her ridiculousness was in the safe confines of her family home with her brothers surrounding her.

Slowly those that had stayed the night at the Burrow trickled downstairs, Charlie, Angelina, Ron, Hermione, Harry and George. The last earning a stink eye from her, also from Harry who had been informed of what had happened to him the night before.

Harry seemed to be of the same overall opinion that there was no harm done, yet when she locked eyes with him, she could tell that there was some resentment that he was feeling. His slight blush about the whole thing looked good on him though.

()()

One month after the bonfire night at the Burrow everyone was back for a regular family dinner. Ginny was feeling pretty spectacular at the moment. She'd played exceptionally well against the Tutshill Tornado's the previous day and was reaping the praise from her family. Her work life was going great, her social life was going great. Her love life on the other hand, well that was non-existent and the few random men that had wandered into her kitchen in the morning after spending a night with her flat mates was constantly rubbing her nose in that.

"Heyya." Harry greeted as he took up in the seat beside her on the love seat in the sitting room.

He still gave her a bit of a thrill when his gorgeous eyes were turned on her, but they'd been thrown together for years now and if anything romantic was going to happen between them, then it would have by now. She was resigned to holding onto this attraction to him forever and just pushing it aside and being his friend.

"Heyya." She smiled. "You know, we've got some planning to do." She conspired.

"We do, do we?" He humored her with his ever-prevalent look of hesitation when it came to anything she or George might try and 'plan' with him. "What is this plan involving?"

"Retaliation." She stated in her best spy voice. "I do believe I caught a yen for that after the last time we were all together here. Something about George messing with both of our heads."

"Oh!" He relaxed visibly and laughed out loud. "Was going to let sleeping dogs lay on that one. Apparently, we didn't do anything too silly, so there was no harm in it. We'll just have to be each other's look out in the future." He shrugged.

Ginny resisted the urge to roll her eyes in exasperation at him. "You're just a barrel of fun, aren't you?" She shook her head. "Fine. I'll have to come up with some form of payback for him myself."

"Trying to guilt trip me into this, are you?" He teased with his boyish grin. He was still pulling that off well into his twenties. "Fine, you come up with something. If you need help with, just let me know what it is. Maybe I will assist in some manner."

"How benevolent of you." She mocked.

They were cut off from any further banter on the subject by Ron coming in and challenging Harry to a chess game.

()()

"Ginny." Harry called out and caught up to her as she was leaving her Quidditch practice. He couldn't help his gaze appreciatively trailing over her body and noticing how very little clothing she was wearing. She'd been growing steadily more attractive over the years, and he wasn't a complete fool, he knew she was a catch that any guy would be lucky to be with, including him. But he also knew that that opportunity had long since passed for him. She was a successful professional Quidditch player now and he was hard into the friend zone.

That didn't stop her from creeping into his wanking fantasies every now and then. This image of her walking over to him with short shorts and a pale pink tank top with a grin on her face and her broom hung over her shoulder was certainly a lovely image for the spank bank.

Suppressing that he pulled out the Owl he'd received from her dear trouble-making brother that was the reason for his visit. She'd told him she was seeking vengeance for their forgotten night, but he'd heard nothing more from her about it. And yet, here was this Owl nearly two weeks later.

"Hey Harry." She beamed when she drew close to him. "What brings you out here?" Her grin dropped slightly. "Not meeting up with one of the girls, are you?"

"W-what?" He faltered. "No." He shook his head, astounded that she'd come to a conclusion like that. "I'm here for you." He held out the note for her and she took it her expression turning bewildered.

As she read, she fought rather unsuccessfully to keep a cheeky grin off her face, then her eyes raised to meet his in an attempt to look innocent. "I wonder what he might be talking about?"

"Don't give me that." He laughed. "George is threatening a counter strike as payback, because apparently he had slipped us that potion 'in good fun'. I on the other hand seem to have pranked him rather maliciously. Which I find quite interesting because I don't seem to recall having done anything of the sort. _You_ on the other hand."

"Well. How do you know he didn't slip you another potion and that was when you did your malicious prank?" She tried him with wide innocent eyes.

"Ginny, come on. What did you do?" He asked, his grin cutting down on the seriousness behind his questioning. "What is he blaming me for?"

"Look Harry." She began walking away from him towards her flat close by. "I'm sure it could have been any number of things in his workshop that turned his skin that color. Besides, Angelina likes blue, so he should be thanking you."

"You turned him blue?" Harry laughed.

"Well. Technically his body wash turned him blue." Ginny explained. "And given that it took a week and a half for that to happen I'm a little concerned he's not keeping on top of his hygiene." She explained with a skip in her step. No doubt she was pleased that her plan had played out.

Harry shrugged and followed beside her. "That isn't that bad. I was expecting you to have done something more cringe worthy."

"Why would you expect that?" She asked and turned to narrow her eyes at him. "You aren't afraid of me, are you?"

"Come on, be serious." He smirked. "Of course, I'm afraid of you."

"Very wise." She chuckled. "You coming to mine for tea?" She asked carrying on towards her flat.

"Are you inviting me?" He asked eagerly. She was getting close to rivaling her mum in the kitchen.

"I am."

"Then I'm coming over to yours for tea."

He enjoyed the feel of Ginny's place. It was a nice open loft style space that she shared with two other Harpy girls. It wasn't too girly though. There weren't trash mags about, or art on the walls of things like flowers or babies in water can's or the like. It was open and airy. Nice.

"Where did your flat mates go after practice?" He asked. He'd only been there a few times, but her flat mates were usually lounging around or pulled up to the island counter beside him telling their racy stories and offering to set him up with someone they knew.

"They were headed back to London to meet up with someone or other for dinner and drinks." She told him absently as she chopped up some vegetables for a stir fry.

"I don't hear about you dating much." He tried not to make it sound like he was prying.

"Right back at you there Chosen One." She gave him a cocky look and gestured at him with her knife. "When was the last time you paraded yourself around to find a woman?"

It was true, he hadn't been out in a while. And going out for the purposes of meeting someone to start a relationship with was not his cup of tea. "It's been a while." He admitted. Eight months since his last date. That was a long while for sure.

"Then let's agree not to comment on each other's love lives', or lack thereof, yeah?" There was a hint of sadness in her tone.

He tried to get her to meet his eye so he could try and get a read on what her tone meant, but she was refusing to look at him. "Yeah, alright." He conceded then switched the topic to Quidditch.

She visibly relaxed at that and they carried on about different plays and Quidditch players until dinner was ready. Ginny claimed she'd planned on having dinner and watching a movie in her room, a plan that wasn't going to change just because he was freeloading. So that was how he wound up in her bed watching 'The Counte of Monte Cristo'.

Harry appreciated how she'd adopted her father's love of everything Muggle. He'd tried to figure out a way to get electricity to work in Grimmauld Place, but it was such a hassle that he'd given up. Hermione and Ron had a television, so sometimes he'd go over to theirs and watch a movie with them. But this was much more comfortable.

"Do you have popcorn?" He tried in a whisper after they'd finished their dinners. That was almost a prerequisite for the movie experience.

"No, but feel free to bring some the next time you come over." She whispered back sleepily.

He looked over at her and was surprised that her eyes were closed. They'd both reclined comfortably into an almost horizontal position against her pillows, but even with her labor-intensive job it was still early and she was generally a ball of energy until she crashed, which was generally after dark.

He didn't say anything about it, just turned his attention back to the movie.

He knew she was properly asleep when she rolled onto her side and cuddled into him. He looked down at her and smiled softly moving his arm so it came around her, shifting a bit so they would both be more comfortable. It didn't seem to have jostled her too much as she kept right on sleeping and he turned back to the movie.

Try as he did, he couldn't help his eyes drifting back to her sleeping form. It felt really good to have her cuddled up against him. He started playing with the ends of her hair. It was so soft and silky. There was this cluster of freckles over the bridge of her nose that was so much more prominent than anywhere else on her body.

That he'd seen anyways. He'd seen her in a bathing suit last summer at the Burrow. She'd been splashing around with her niece Victoire. She'd been a vision really. But he hadn't been close enough to her then to see just how many freckles were spread out over her body.

Earlier she'd asked about why he didn't go out looking for someone, and the truth was that it was because he wanted someone exactly like her. Someone he was attracted to, and comfortable with. Someone who understand everything he'd been through and had similar experiences and just got it.

Eventually he managed to pull his eyes back to the movie and simply enjoy it while enjoying the feel of her tucked up beside him. But as the movie was drawing to a close, he felt her nuzzling his side a bit as she came out of her nap.

She gave a stretch and rolled away from him. "Oh. Sorry for falling asleep on you." She told him in a tired moan.

"S'fine." He replied, distracted by the sight of her tank top pulled taught against her chest. He hadn't minded her cuddling into him one bit.

Ginny propped herself up against the pillows again and rested back shoulder to shoulder with him. "I've missed the whole movie, haven't I?"

"Must have been a hard work out today for you to be this knackered." He murmured, looking over at her.

"Not especially." She said softly and turn to face him as well.

There was this restful and relaxed glow about her. And she was so close, her eyes so inviting. He didn't even think about it as he leaned towards her. It felt like he was moving in slow motion as the space simply diminished between them. This was all just something out of a dream sequence, one that was prolonging this moment of anticipation before their lips were just a millimeter apart. He held himself there, not quite knowing what he was doing. It could be the dumbest move he'd ever made, and he'd replayed his more idiotic moves over and over again over the years.

But when she tilted her chin up and closed the distance between them it didn't feel stupid.

Her lips were soft, the warmth from her face against his felt so right. He pressed his lips harder against hers and moved them against them properly. A real, true kiss, one that was making him forget to breathe and nervous about carrying on. His heart was pounding in his ears as they both shifted their positions so they could deepen it.

His arms went around her to pull her closer and he received no protest. She wasn't resisting him in any way, she wasn't simply allowing it to happen either. She was holding him as well, encouraging their kiss to keep going. Her fingers were in his hair and felt like heaven. Their lips caressed t each other gently in long and soft movements that were making him dizzy with satisfaction.

He kept recreating the best sensations he could, hearing her gentle sounds of appreciation. And he wanted to keep on kissing her like this. Keep on until the sun properly set and rose again tomorrow morning.

But this was Ginny he had in his arms.

As the sound of music from the credits rolling on the movie grew loud enough to overpower the sound of his blood pumping in his ears he managed to pull himself back from her and try and gauge if she was looking how he was feeling. Like this was right. Like they should have been doing this with each other for years already.

She looked flush, her lips were fuller than they had been, her breath was coming out heavy. And her eyes. Those big beautiful brown eyes were looking into his with wonderment and confusion.

Unsure what to do he loosened his grip around her and they both sat up staring at each other.

"What was that?" Ginny asked him softly.

He swallowed, not sure how to answer. "I just." He needed another moment to collect his thoughts. "I wanted to." He managed, wishing he had something more eloquent to offer.

She searched his face. "But you don't like me that way." She told him in a whisper.

She really thought that, didn't she? All these years it had been what he'd tried to project. To put that kind of wall up between them. He was ready to pull that wall down though. Their activity the last ten minutes or so had shown them both that. "What if I do?" He asked.

She tilted her head at him, and slowly a small smile tugged the corners of her lips. "You do?"

She looked pleased. A wave of relief took over him as he saw that. "I do." He felt comfortable admitting that much. "And you? You seemed to, um, respond."

"I do too." She admitted softly, her smile growing wide and she bit her lip to try to control it, letting out a small laugh.

Harry sucked in a deep breath. "Oh, thank Merlin." He grinned and moved closer to her. "So?" He asked, moving in hopeful that she might be interested in trying that again.

"So." She whispered back and put her hand on the front of his shirt and gently pulling him the rest of the way towards her.

They passed the rest of the night snogging and talking until they both drifted off.

()

Waking up with a man in her bed was an unfamiliar feeling for Ginny. Having that man be Harry whom she'd spent the evening snogging with heatedly. Well, that was a fantastic feeling.

There was a grin on her face that was most likely going to remain there for weeks to come if all he'd told her was true. About how he'd grown to fancy her for a while, and he'd yet felt like their lives were so intertwined already that he didn't want to jeopardize any relationships with her family by attempting to pursue anything, lest he be way off base on her reciprocating at all.

She admitted to him that she'd all but given up on anything happening between the two of them. They'd known each other for so long. She'd figured if anything was going to happen, it would have already.

He seemed to be as over the moon about their incorrect assumptions as she was.

And now. Well, now she wasn't sure what they were. Was he her boyfriend? Were they going to be telling people?

She rolled over and peaked at him. He was asleep on his back with his head turned the other way. Slipping out of the bed she opened the door quietly and snuck to the bathroom before getting coffee going in the kitchen. Glancing at the door to the corridor she saw her flat mates' boots were kicked off there, as well as two sets she didn't recognize. They must have picked up some men last night.

Taking two mugs back to her room she slipped back into bed and sipped her coffee waiting for him to get up. She didn't have to wait long as the scent of coffee seemed to do the job in waking him.

"Hey." He smiled.

"Hey." She indicated to the table on his side of the bed where his glasses were beside his mug she'd brought him.

"Thanks." He sat up and took it.

This was a little awkward. She didn't know if it was only because she was being awkward, or if it was both of them. He might have just gotten carried away last night. Maybe he hadn't meant what he'd said. He was looking at his watch. Did that mean that he was checking if it was an appropriate time to bail?

"I have about an hour before I would need to get home to shower and change." He said, relaxing back against the headboard, moving slightly more towards her so their arms were touching, looking at her with an adoring twinkle in his eye.

That was all it took for her tension to dissipate. He didn't want to run away or back pedal anything. "My flat mates usually wake up late on days we don't have practice." She gave fair warning. "And it looks like I wasn't the only one sharing by bed last night."

"Can I take you out tonight?" He asked abruptly.

"What?" She asked in surprise at how he'd asked. Wanting to be sure she'd heard that right as well.

"I want to take you out. On a real date." Harry said more clearly. "Somewhere in the Muggle world where no one knows us, and we can just be ourselves."

"I'd like that." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

He turned his head more before she pulled back and kissed her properly. "So glad I can do that now." He murmured.

()()

"Cinemas are just so fantastic." Ginny gushed as she kicked off her shoes in the entryway. They were back at Harry's place after doing a classic Muggle date of dinner and a movie. At least, Harry told her it was a classic. She just took his word for it and enjoyed the meal followed by popcorn and chocolate.

"Glad you enjoyed it." He chuckled. This was their seventh date if they were counting the three time's they'd stayed in and made each other dinner. Seven dates in three weeks and they still hadn't told the rest of the Weasley's, but they planned to.

Not tonight, however.

Tonight, Harry was rather hoping she'd stay the night. It would be the first time she would 'stay the night'. Judging from how she was looking at him with a twinkle in her eye and vixen smile she had on her lips, that was her plan as well.

Their hands had done plenty of wandering when they'd had the chance these past weeks, but they still hadn't gone all the way.

"Do you want to play chess?" She asked huskily, clearly not having any intention of wanting to play the game herself.

She had on a nice scoop necked summer dress and he thought it looked lovely on her, but it would look much better on the floor. He stepped towards her and ran his hand from her shoulder down to her elbow, encouraging her to take a step towards him. "No."

Ginny stepped forward so she was pressed against him, looking up. "No? Did you have something else in mind to occupy the rest of our evening?" She teased.

"Ginny." He strained out. He needed to know that she was up for this. That she wanted it too. They'd done a slow progression in their kisses and touches and he was desperate for more. For all of her.

She came up on her tippy toes and kissed him softly, then deeply. Moving his hand with her own to come around to her back. "Unzip me." She whispered against his mouth.

He acquiesced, finding the zip and pulling it down, kissing his way down her neck as the he did so. She stepped back from his embrace once the zip was all the way down and kept stepping backwards, pulling the shoulders of the dress off slowly one at a time. Once she reached the stairs behind her, she turned around and began sliding the dress down her torso as she ascended the stairs.

His breath was coming out in slow pants as he took in the smooth curves of her skin. He licked his lips and his body began moving forward towards her, eyeing her hungrily as she gracefully ran her thumbs along where the dress was bunched at her bum, then leaning forward to accentuate the curve of her bum as the dress slid over it slowly and smoothly.

He was fumbling with the buttons on his shirt as he watched her show of undressing, tossing his shirt on the stairs behind him once he'd gotten rid of the useless article of clothing.

At the top of the landing she turned towards him and the dress fell the rest of the way to her feet. Harry had to grab onto the railing for balance as he took in her form. Seeing her in only her bra and knickers was nothing like seeing her in her bathing suit.

She kicked her dress at him and turned towards his bedroom. He caught the dress and tossed it and his undershirt on the stairs behind him before eagerly following her to the bedroom. Ginny had removed her bra by the time he'd caught up to her in the room and Harry felt the wind get knocked out of him. Her breasts were so full and perky. Glorious was the word that really came to mind. She reached out as he was staring and tugged at his belt.

"We're doing this?" He asked, not wanting to get any farther if she had any hesitations he wasn't seeing. He didn't know if he was going to be able to stop himself if they went any further.

She began nodding demurely before answering. "We are absolutely doing this. I don't know about you, but I am so ready for this." She snapped his belt off in one swift movement.

That was plenty of encouragement. He captured her lips as his hands dealt with the button on his trousers, aggressively pushing them down and locking his arms around her as he kicked the article off his feet. Moving her back towards his bed he couldn't manage to stop his hands from wandering all over her body.

The back of her legs bumped into the bed and she climbed backwards onto it moving back far enough that she could lay all the way down. Harry knelt down and began kissing his way up her body, starting at her ankle and moving up to her calf, knee, thigh. He caught her eye before closing his eyes and nuzzling into her center.

She moaned and he felt her lay back completely to absorb the feeling of him there. Her hips rolled gently, and he hooked his fingers in the top of her knickers and began tugging them down, she assisted him with lifting her bum and he took the opportunity to cup her cheeks firmly before finishing his task of removing her last item of clothing.

It was a feast for the eyes to have this full-frontal view of her before him. Something he'd fantasized about for so long. He leaned down once more and spread her lower lips before him before giving her a good long lick. Her gasping out his name coupled with the activity was making him harder than he'd been in his life. He continued using his tongue on her for a minute longer before he had to stop and keep kissing his way up her body.

At her breasts her cupped them both and buried his face in them, savoring the feel of them on his face. "Harry, please." She moaned and he felt her reaching down, managing to only brush the top of his boxers.

He tugged them off and poised himself between her legs, grabbing himself firmly before pushing gently inside her. And holy gods was she ever tight and hot. He slid completely inside her with ease given how wet she was, pausing to enjoy the sensation of finally being in the situation he'd dreamed of for so long. She sighed with the satisfaction of having him there.

They didn't change up positions or try any crazy moves with each other. It was just steady and repetitive rocking and thrusting against each other with her legs hooked around his. Hot breath in each other's ear as the sensations took over their bodies until they both reached their delicious finish with pleasured groans and sighs, coming down from their high cuddled together and drifting off to sleep.

()()()

"Alright! It was a good game we played out there. But it was a close game too. We can't just rely on the Snitch getting caught. We need to completely pummel their other Chaser's; we have to make their Keeper consider throwing in the towel." Gwenog rallied the Harpies after their close call game.

Ginny was sitting on the bench listening to it, but also hoping there wouldn't be a reason for her to stand up or open her eyes for the next few moments. Just a few more moments and this dizzy nauseous feeling would pass. She was sure it would pass. Oh, she hoped it would pass soon.

"Weasley." Gwenog called her out.

'Damn.' She thought and took a steadying breath before looking up at her Captain and watching her form waver in her vision. "Yes Captain?"

"On your feet Weasley." She barked. Gwenog wasn't a tyrant or anything. But she did like to sound like one when she was trying to be motivational.

Groaning inwardly Ginny made it to her feet. She only managed to stand there for a moment however before swaying and falling hard back to the bench and groaning, putting her head in her hands.

"Weasley?" Gwenog called in concern as she rushed forward to kneel in front of her. Ginny heard exclamations from her teammates around her. "Ginny? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"M'not sure." She managed. "Just really dizzy."

"Alright. Come on." She pulled her to her feet and slung her arm over her shoulder. "We're going to the team healer. The rest of you, I'll tell you what you did wrong at practice." She hollered to them. "Get changed and then get out there and tell the press how amazing we all are." She turned her focus back to Ginny. "Have you felt like this the whole game?" She asked her privately, a hint of anger about that possibility in there.

Ginny shook her head as they walked slowly. "No. Just the last little bit." She promised. "Just suddenly came over me. Nauseous and dizzy."

They went down their private corridor to the Sports Healer's office.

"Injury?" Dominic, the team's healer, asked when they came into his office.

"No. She's got something messing with her head." Gwenog spoke for her, settling her down into a chair.

Dominic came to kneel in front of her and took her pulse then felt at her lymph nodes and checked her pupils. "Alright. Well, first things first." He stood up and retrieved his wand from the desk waving it in front of her belly.

They all watched as a light shone from his wand, encircling Ginny's belly and then collecting there below her belly button and shining a soft pink color.

"Yep, that'd do it." Dominic told them.

"What?!" Gwenog exclaimed and sunk into the seat beside Ginny looking shocked and slightly defeated.

"What?" Ginny asked confused. She knew the basic healing spells. Her mum had used several of them over the years. She'd also had Dominic use a few of them on her as well, but she wasn't familiar with that one.

"You're pregnant." Dominic said with a humorous smile.

If she wasn't already sitting, she would have fallen over for sure. Pregnant. She and Harry had only been having sex for two weeks, how could she be pregnant? They'd used the contraceptive charm.

Oh, shit. Did they use one that first time? "Shit." She stomped her foot. "Oh Gods." Leaning forwards, she put her head in her hands.

"You know who's it is then?" Gwenog asked her delicately.

That caused Ginny to turn and glare at her. "I know we have some slags on the team, and they pretty well run through stadiums and bars announcing their status as such, but I am not like that and you know it. Yes, I know who's it bloody well belongs to." She snapped.

"Alright, calm down. I had to ask. Didn't know you were seeing anyone." She didn't sound particularly concerned she'd been yelled at.

"We've been keeping it quiet." Ginny pouted. "Didn't want my family to know yet." She didn't know how she was going to break this to Harry. It was so soon.

Dominic was waving some charms over her to check her overall health and that of the fetus. "Looks like you've been keeping it quiet for about three months then." He said chipperly.

Ginny turned to him in confusion. "What? Three months?"

"That's about how far along you are. Three months. Baby is about the size of a peach and you should start showing in a few weeks."

"Three months you've been pregnant, and you didn't know?" Gwenog asked incredulously.

Ginny was blinking at the Healer with panic settling in. Being pregnant was one thing, but being three months pregnant? How in the fuck did that happen? Before she and Harry got together she hadn't been seeing anyone for at least a year. She'd been focusing entirely on Quidditch.

If she'd hooked up with someone while she was drunk, she'd have at least remembered in the morning, and she hadn't gotten black out drunk since.

"OH MY GOD!" She screamed. She wasn't dizzy anymore, she was furious! Completely seeing red.

Healer Dominic and Gwenog weren't able to stop her before she darted out of the room and towards the exit to the rest of the stadium.

He was here. He'd come to watch today, and she needed to see him now!

The family had access to the box seats and they always stuck around after her games because she'd pop in for a visit before doing the press junket.

People were nearly jumping out of her way as she blazed her path towards the box, throwing open the door and slamming it behind her gaining everyone's attention. He was there with a beer in hand on the other side of the room.

Some of her family members came towards her but she beelined it for him and knocked the beer out of his hand, shoving him up against the wall. "How could you!" She started slapping him wherever she could. "Why would you do this to me?" More slapping. "What right do you have?"

Exclamations of surprise from those around them weren't reaching her ears as she kept on assaulting him until strong arms pulled her away.

"Oi! What the bloody hell?" George got up off the floor. "What did I ever do to you?"

"That blood black out compulsion shit you gave me! This is all your fault." She screamed at him.

"Ginevra!" Her mum yelled her name to get her attention.

The tears were starting to roll down her cheeks as her anger turned to misery. "That night. It had to be that night." She sniffled.

"You already got me back for that." George argued.

"Not enough I didn't!" She suddenly felt exhausted and sagged into the arms of whoever was holding on to her.

"Ginny?" Harry's voice was close to her ear. It was him that was holding her. "What's going on?"

She managed to stand up properly, attempting to stop her chin from warbling and took a deep breath. "You sent us to go in and go to sleep it off that night didn't you. That night that Harry and I 'got out of hand' or whatever you called it." She demanded of her mum.

"Well." Her eyes turned a little vacant as she thought back. "Yes. You were both starting to pull some ridiculous stunts, so we sent you inside to bed before it got too carried away."

She nearly laughed in her face for that choice of words. "Well, I'm guessing no one actually saw us to our rooms then. You just told us to go to bed and that was that. Was it?" She steamed.

"Ginny, what?" George started.

"Did anyone see us to our rooms?" She screamed, demanding an answer.

"No!" He yelled back. "We just sent you and Harry into the house and the rest of us stayed out and carried on." George told her angrily, not seeing anything wrong with that.

"Fantastic." Ginny bit, tone indicating it was anything but. "You sent Harry and I into the house, to go to _bed_, while under a powerful compulsion charm." She laughed bitterly. "I guess no one here though anything could possibly go wrong with the two of us 'going to bed together'."

"What?" Harry breathed out, clearly catching on. His arms that had been securing her slipped lower in his shock.

The rest of them were still looking at her bewildered.

"Harry and I fancied each other, and you lot sent us to bed, unsupervised, while under a compulsion potion." She explained loudly. "One that made it so neither of us remembered what happened in the morning. So imagine my surprise when the Healer told me I'm pregnant. And not two weeks pregnant, which was when I had though was Harry's and my first time, but THREE MONTHS!"

"You're WHAT?!" Her mum yelled as the rest of the present family members gaped.

"Th-three months?" Harry gulped. "Ginny!" He exclaimed. "P-pregnant?"

She turned around to face him. He looked in shock. Given how she'd handled this situation it didn't surprise her.

He pulled her close to him, an automatic gesture on his part, hugging her to his front and looking down at her. "You're sure?" He whispered. "It was that night?"

She nodded, chin quivering. "The healer said I was three months along, and that's the only night unaccounted for." She sniffed and wiped her cheeks. "I remember waking in the morning and being, well, sore. And I swear to you." She promised. "There was no one else. No one else after, and no one before for ages."

"I came to in the loo." He remembered. "I don't remember what happened before that. I just." He paused and some color came to his face. He gave a weak chuckle and leaned down towards her ear. "I thought I'd gone in there and had a wank or something." She couldn't help chuckling too at that. "That's what I'd figured had happened considering how, you know, it felt."

Ginny didn't have it in her to find that comforting or amusing anymore. She just tucked her head under his chin and he held her close.

"You two?" George asked.

"Are you together?" Her mum sounded quite happy about that.

"Yes." Harry answered, stroking Ginny's back as she hugged into him. "Sorry we hadn't told you all yet, we just wanted to make sure it was going to work first." He explained. "And now we were serious about each other."

Ginny sighed. "I guess this makes it pretty fucking serious." She put a hand to her belly and thought over any signs she'd missed that meant she should have seen it sooner.

She'd missed her periods sure, but she'd been quite irregular since going professional and all the exercise that required. There hadn't been any smells making her nauseous, no throwing up, her breasts weren't tender, nothing else to indicate she was pregnant for three months already.

"So. What now?" Harry asked her.

"What do you mean, what now?" She pulled back and looked up at him in confusion.

"Oh! Are you getting married?" Her mum piped up excitedly, clapping her hands together.

"Mum!" Ginny rounded on her. "Let me deal with my anger at George before getting me angry at you too."

George smartly kept his mouth shut and backed away.

Ginny turned back to gauge the amount of panic she would see in Harry's eyes. He'd just found out he was going to be a father and now her mother was putting pressure on them to get married? She expected him to be about ready to bolt. But he didn't look panicked at all. He looked amazed, and wondrous, his eyes drifting back and forth between her abdomen and her eyes. 'Well." He started softly, with a smile growing to his face.

She took a step back from him then. "What?" She asked astounded. They'd been dating for a month. This time yesterday they'd been debating telling her family. Now he wanted to get married? She took another step back from him and managed a steadying breath. "I have to go. I can't" She said tried to find a way to articulate what she needed. "I'll talk to you later."

They all protested, but she ignored them and kept on her way back to the change room. She needed to shower, she needed to, to cry and scream and figure out what was happening to her.

A baby.

She was going to have a baby.

In six months.

Gwenog was waiting for her when she got back. "Ginny." She pounced. "You okay?" Her eyes were full of concern.

"I will be." It was the best she could offer.

"We need to talk about this." Her eyes darted to the door she'd just come through. "Did you just tell the father? Is he here?"

"Yeah." She sighed out. "He's here, and he knows. As does my mum, three of my brothers and two of my sister-in-law's." She ran a hand over her face. "This is all Georges fault." She kicked the garbage can close to her.

"Your brother George?" She asked completely confused. "How is this his fault exactly?"

"He was playing about with potions and slipped me and the father some at the last big family blow out. Clearly none of them realized that…" She almost said Harry's name. "'He' and I were attracted to each other and, well, things got carried away. But in the morning, neither of us remembered anything. Us being together now was a complete fluke in comparison."

"Wow." Gwenog drew out. "That is a crazy random happenstance."

Ginny closed her eyes, wishing that when she opened them her day was going to reset to that morning when she'd woken in Harry's bed. All this was a dream and her life plan was still on track. At least two more years at the top of her game before settling down enough to start a family. Two full years of settling into a life with Harry before they thought about having kids. They needed time to be a couple first before they were parents.

And that plan had involved him proposing because he wanted to, not out of obligation to her or her family.

This was all getting out of hand. She felt like she didn't have any control over herself anymore.

A sob wracked through her body and before she knew what was going on, she was in a puddle on the floor and couldn't stop the tears. Gwen's held onto her as best she could manage, but it wasn't helping. At one-point in her melt down Gwen's arms were replaced with someone else's and Ginny couldn't be bothered to look up and see who it was, she just buried her face in their shirt and kept right on with her break down.

She had no idea how long it was before their words started registering. They were murmuring to her comforting words about how it was going to be alright. And nothing was as bad as it seemed. But what did they know? Eventually the words stopped, but the embrace remained. Her tears ran dry and she was emotionally exhausted but calm enough to sit up and see that it was Harry that had been holding her.

"I'm sorry." He said. His eyes showed signs of him having been crying a bit too.

Ginny was shocked and couldn't help staring at the signs of his emotions having spilled forth from his eyes as well. She didn't think she'd ever seen him cry. Not when he'd rescued her from the Chamber, not after the incident at the Ministry, not even after he'd defeated Voldemort and apparently died in the process.

"I'm so sorry, Ginny." He repeated.

"It wasn't your fault." She sniffled complacently. "It just is what it is now I guess." She pulled out of his arms and settled her back against the lockers. She'd missed the press junket for sure.

"Not about the baby." He said softly. "I'm sorry about reacting to what your mum said like that."

Ginny frowned at him. "It's too soon. For all of this."

"I know. Angelina and Hermione kind of laid into me after you left." He gave her a shy smile. "Tore into me about using the word 'well' as a proposal of sorts."

Ginny let out a laugh. Hearing it after the fact did make it a little funny. "You've never been known to be the romantic sort."

"I really don't know the first thing about it." He agreed, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear and giving her a sweet kiss. "But have had this fantasy in my head of you and I, you know, down the road."

It warmed her whole body to hear that. She'd allowed herself to think in the long term as well, she and he married with kids at the family functions, her grumbling about his socks being tossed wherever in their room when she's trying to do laundry. "I've had that fantasy too Harry." She admitted. "But it's too soon."

"I know. But just because this isn't going according to either of our plans doesn't mean I don't want it. Or that I'm not happy about it. It'll just take me a bit to adjust to it." He assured her.

"Harry." She cut him off. "I'm the one that was crying on the locker room floor. I should be the one assuring you of these things."

"You're the one that's pregnant though. Now it's my job to assure you." He took her hand and kissed it. He made sure that she was looking directly in his eyes so she would know he was being honest now. "And now let me assure you of something else. I will propose to you properly one day. When the time is right, and when I've planned it out. I know we've only been dating for little over a month, but I know we are going to be together for the long haul. With or without a baby on the way already."

Damn him for being so perfect. Damn him for making her feel like this is all going to work out at a time when she just wanted to rage and cry and hole herself up in her room for a few days.

"I already know I love you Ginny." He told her seriously. "And I really wish I'd told you that before, but there it is. I love you and I am completely in this with you." He took her hand and pressed his lips to her palm.

"I love you too Harry." She cupped his cheek and kissed him softly. She was feeling better. Or capable of dealing with things now anyway. "Alright." She started determinedly. "I need to shower and change out of my kit."

"Do you want me to wait here?" He asked.

"No." A meek look came to her face. "I want you to come and wash my back." She stood up and pulled her jersey over her head. "I have a feeling you'll need to start getting used to doing that over the next few months."

Harry watched in surprise as she pulled off the rest of her gear and stood before him in only her birthday suit. He'd started to his feet as she walked away towards the shower stalls.

It didn't take long for him to join her.

"We have one more thing to discuss." He said as he pressed himself against her back under the stream of water, hands travelling up to cup her breasts and kissing her neck.

"Hmm. What's that?"

"Well, I don't think dying him blue was enough..."


	10. Catfish

**Hope you enjoy this one-shot. AU- Harry wound up with Remus for his schooling and Voldemort doesn't have Horcruxes and dies that night, but Harry's role in it wasn't broadcasted. Another story of he and Ginny meeting later in life.**

**()()**

**Catfish**

**()()**

Harry walked into the pub with nervous jitters running all throughout him. He felt like his arms were just going to be sporadically twitching all night. Why did he agree to do this? What on earth had been the tipping point that made him agree to do this?

Oh right. It was pointed out to him that he never did anything but work and sleep. Not in a nice way either.

How bad could this go anyhow? Maybe she'd take one look at him and just raise her eyebrows in surprise and disappointment at the look of him and walk out.

Not that he was terrible looking, but he was on the scrawnier side, and couldn't tame his wild hair for the life of him. Unfortunately making his hair any shorter showed how much his ears stuck out, so leaving it long was the lesser of two evils really. His glasses had been upgraded from the crumby one's he'd had forever that had been repaired multiple times. Now he had ones that suited his face much better.

He'd even splurged and updated the wardrobe recently. Spending a decent amount of money in both Muggle and Magical clothing shops so he had decent looking casual wear and suitable work attire. So, really, he was currently the best looking he'd ever been. If he was going to agree to go out on a blind date ever in his life it'd be now before the rose-colored glasses when it came to his new appearance turned clear again.

His job didn't specifically require him to have any special attire, but there were tours through the potions labs every now and again and he hadn't wanted to stand out as the lad with the scruffy clothes. The department heads probably wouldn't ever say anything to him about given that his grandparents were the ones that founded the company, but he didn't want any more preferential treatment because of that. It wasn't like he'd ever known them anyways. Nor his parents. But Remus had told him enough about them. His parents, not his grandparent. He'd been best friends with his dad through school.

Man, he wished he'd gone to Hogwarts like Remus and his parents had. Then maybe he would have more experience with girls and not be so nervous right now. Remus had said this girl was super nice. Smart, pretty, courteous, the perfect girl for an easy introduction into a potential dating life.

Well, he'd been on a date or two before. Uh, well, only two dates before. They'd been less than successful, so he didn't have high hopes for this one either, but Remus had seemed sure he'd hit it off with her.

Because she was supposed to be super nice.

So that meant what? That she'd tolerate him stumbling over his words and spilling his drink down his front because he was so jumpy with his nerves having him on edge?

One more calming breath and he scanned the pub. She'd be sitting alone probably. He looked along the bar to see if there were any ginger girls around his age sitting by themselves. None were though, so he looked towards the booths.

There she was.

She'd gotten fairly prime placement. Directly across from the doorway in a comfortable booth that was a four-seater.

Remus was right, from all Harry could tell from the lighting she was pretty. She didn't seem the least bit nervous though. She had a magazine with her and a drink already on the go. She really had the 'casual cool' style nailed. It was like she wasn't even waiting for a date. Jeans and a t-shirt with her lovely red hair plaited off to one side.

He couldn't see her face perfectly with the low lighting, but he liked the sight of her he was getting from the bulb shining down above the booth table. There was this slight upturn at the end of her nose. He didn't know why he liked that so much. It was just a feature he found appealing.

Harry shook his head slightly at himself. He'd best not say anything about how he liked her nose. That would be a weird thing to inject into a conversation.

Slow even breaths. He made his way over to the booth.

"HI." He said loudly when he reached it. She jumped and looked up at him startled. "Sorry." He said quieter. "I didn't mean to say that so loudly. Let me try that again." He grinned nervously. "Hi." He managed a regular volume.

She chuckled under her breath. She had a nice smile. "Hello."

He slid into the booth across from her. "Uh, so I don't normally do this. Uh. Never do this actually. But well." He took a deep breath. "I took a chance and I'm glad I did because you're really quite pretty."

She looked slightly taken aback and her brow furrowed slightly in confusion or indignation, he couldn't quite tell which.

"Not that I'm just here because you're pretty. I mean, you ARE, but." He tried to back pedal and swallowed thickly trying to give himself a second to figure out how to start off a proper conversation with her. Then he took note of what was on her t-shirt, the crossed broomsticks and Quaffle. "You're a big fan of Quidditch?" He tried sounding optimistic.

"Quite." She replied with a tentative yet humored tone. "Do you play?"

"Never properly, but I do love to fly. And go to games when I can." He managed, relaxing slightly. He gestured to her drink. "Can I get you another?"

A calculating look took over her face as she seemed to be giving him a once and twice over to see if he might turn out to be some kind of a threat to her. He must have passed her visual security test. "Sure. It's a vodka slime."

It was his turn for his brow to furrow. "What's in that?"

"Vodka, Sprite and Lime Cordial."

"That sounds delicious." He said with surprise.

She smiled. "It is."

"Menu as well?" He asked hopefully.

"I did come here to eat." She said cheekily with a nod and slightly narrowed eyes, a look of teasing over all.

"Right. Yeah, of course." He rubbed his neck and grinned crookedly before flagging down the waitress and requesting a drink for the two of them and menu's. "So, do you play?" He indicated to her shirt, then dropped his hand to the table quickly when he realized he was pointing to her chest.

"I do." She nodded proudly. "Reserve Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies."

"You're kidding! That's amazing." He wondered why Remus hadn't told him that. Perhaps so he wouldn't seem star struck going into this.

"And you? What is it you do to pay the bills?" She asked, grabbing their drinks from the air that had been floated over.

"Research assistant for Pius Potions Plus." He relayed and took his first sip of his drink. It was the perfect mix of sweet and sour, quite tasty.

"The guys that make Sleakeasy." She nodded in recognition. "That stuff was certainly passed around the dorm room often enough in school. I know it well."

He chuckled. "There are a lot of witches that do. My grandfather was actually the one to create it." He told her.

"You're kidding." Her smile dropped to one of surprise, then she brushed passed it. "Research assistant sounds interesting."

"Not nearly as much as the work of a professional Quidditch player." He pointed out.

She waived a hand to disregard that. "Any idiot with a broom can be a Quidditch player if they try hard enough. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't think of myself as an idiot and it is ridiculously hard work to maintain my spot and learn and develop as I have to, but I was terrible at potions. Though I do blame the fact that the Potions Professor had it out for the Gryffindors, and my family in particular. Which I blame on my older brothers placing me automatically in his bad books."

"That would've been Severus Snape, right?" He'd heard stories of him from Remus too. Miserable man, apparently he'd been in love with his mother though so he out and out hated his father with a vengeance.

"Got it in one." She raised her glass at him. "I'm feeling nachos." She glanced down at the menu.

"Yeah." He said brightly. "Large size to share? Or did you want a small one just to yourself? Or large one to yourself, you do exercise for a living." He tried joking.

It landed well enough. He hadn't seemed to have offended her somehow anyways.

"I think sharing a large will work." She agreed. "And if you eat too many of them, I know they make some decent chips here too."

It was going really well so far. The ball of nerves in his stomach had dissipated. He ordered the food once they'd discussed what not to put on the nacho's and why. Apparently, she had an aversion to mushrooms, but they were both big fans of olives. And the more cheese the better.

By the time they were nearly done with the platter of nachos and the conversation still hadn't lagged at all. She was really easy to talk to, and asked questions that got him talking quite a lot more than he usually did as well. All signs were pointing to her being open to another date.

"Can I just say that I am really glad I came out tonight?" Harry tried not to sound like he was gushing too much, but this was easily a million times better than he could have predicted.

"Was there something making you consider not coming out tonight then?" She cocked her head at him, her mouth was open slightly and he could see her tongue tracing the bottom of her top teeth slightly.

Why he was looking at that and found it intriguing he wasn't sure. Just like with her cute nose. He'd found her attractive when he'd sat down but now that they'd been talking for over an hour and gotten to know her personality a bit, he found her even more attractive.

"Well, you know. Blind dates and all. There's a stigma around it." He shrugged. "Even when I'm hearing high praise about you from a trusted friend." Harry added.

"Blind date?" She asked slowly, confusion reflecting in her eyes. "You were sent here for a blind date?"

"Y-yeah." He replied slowly, the fact that she might not have realized making his dinner not sit well in his stomach anymore. "Uh, Remus didn't-"

"Remus?" She repeated. "Remus Lupin?" She asked dumbfounded.

"Did you not know?" Harry was horrified at the idea that Remus had sent him into a situation like this with 'the perfect girl' when she wasn't even informed it was happening.

"No." She shook her head, still looking in shock, but then she let out a loud laugh before covering her mouth, her eyes sparkling with humor. "That does sound like something Tonks would do to me though." She laughed.

He felt his whole body relax, not even having noticed how stiff he'd been before she laughed. "You know Tonks then."

"Yes." Her eyes looked even more bright than they had before. "Tonks is basically a sister to me. I've known her since I was eight. She's fantastic." She relayed. "I did not think she'd ever set me up on a blind date without even telling me about it however."

"Are you just here all the time then?" He asked curiously. "How did they know you'd be here?" Remus had talking him into it yesterday after all.

She shook her head and shrugged picking up her glass again, not at all bothered. "I don't know. I've been here a few times, but not in a month or so. I came tonight because my flat mates were driving me nuts and I had nothing in the cupboards for dinner." After taking a sip she set her drink down and extended her hand to him. "This is a little late, but how about we properly introduce ourselves?"

Harry let out a laugh and took her offered hand, liking the feeling of her warm skin touching his. "Nice to meet you, I'm Harry Potter." He told her with mock formality.

"Pleased to meet you Harry Potter, I'm Ginny Weasley." She grinned back.

His expression dropped immediately upon hearing her name. His mouth fell open and eyes went wide.

This was too much.

He'd sat down with her, had three drinks, dinner and over and hour and a half of conversation. The whole time not realizing. Just sitting there like a complete idiot thinking she was turning out to be the most perfect girl.

And she was, her name being what it was didn't change that.

But HOLY FUCK!

"Ginny Weasley." He echoed back at her. "Your name is Ginny Weasley?" He asked rather panicked, but not being able to help it.

"Er, yes?" Clearly Ginny was concerned about his reaction. "Is that a problem?"

"No. Yes. Uh, well. Sort of?" His eyes darted around the pub thoroughly. Probably something that he should have done when he walked in instead of looking only to the bar stools and then simply to her sitting alone in the booth and coming over. "I, uh."

She was looking more upset with each utterance of unsurety coming out of his flustered mouth. He needed to clear this up, let her understand. But his brain to mouth function wasn't working properly.

"What is it?" She asked starting to look slightly angry at him now.

His face had to be bright red at this point. There was no way he wasn't blushing ridiculously at his mess up. "I." He started. "See, the thing is." A chuckle escaped his mouth at just how ridiculous this was. "I was supposed to be meeting someone named Susan." He bit his lip to stop another chuckle from coming out.

Ginny's eyebrows went up a tick. She didn't look angry anymore. Harry observed her carefully, hoping she'd find this whole situation as funny as his traitorous humorous side was. He watched carefully as her lip twitched and she began shaking with silent laughter, then her eyes growing glassy as she began truly laughing. He couldn't help joining her in laughing uproariously. He was close to needing to rest his head on the table for support at how funny this situation was turning out to be.

"I saw." Ginny gasped through her laughs. "I saw her leave." Deep inhale. "Oh, I noticed Susan Bones leaving in a huff an hour ago!" She kept laughing. "Oh shit! You were meant to be meeting with her!"

It took a bit for the two of them to calm down. They'd drawn enough concerned looks from the patrons around them, but they managed to reign it in, and Harry ordered them another round of drinks.

Wiping away his tears of mirth he still was shaking slightly with laughter. "I suppose I'll have to send her an Owl explaining what happened tomorrow." He laughed then calmed down and couldn't help staring admiringly at Ginny. "I have to tell you though; I am very glad I made this mistake."

She blushed slightly but looked to be returning his look. "I'm glad too."

()()

So, perhaps it was the five vodka laden drinks that had led them to this, or maybe it was the universe paying him back for the several years of suffering he'd had living with his Aunt and Uncle before finding safe haven and a wonderful friend and mentor in Remus Lupin, but whatever it was, he was grateful.

Grateful that she'd been the one to kiss him. Grateful that she was an amazing kisser. Grateful that he seemed to have not relayed through his fumbling's that he was rather inexperienced with the opposite sex. And was he ever grateful that Ginny didn't mind taking the lead by placing his hands where she wanted them. And by far he was amazingly grateful that this supply room door had been unlocked and he hadn't been required to take out his wand and remove his lips from hers in order to get them on the other side of the door to this semi-private area.

He was also grateful that she was making this movement with her hips that had his eyes rolling back behind his lids.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he'd ever be one of those people that got so swept up in the moment in some place like a dingy pub on a Wednesday night that he couldn't keep his hands or lips off of someone. He'd never thought someone as amazing and attractive as Ginny was would be behaving likewise with him.

Yet here he was in a supply closet with his erection straining against his jeans, and she was seeming all for it. She was rocking against it for Merlin's sake! Her tongue was in his mouth and her hand was clasped over his encouraging it to travel up under her shirt.

Trying as they both were to muffle their groans of appreciation for what each other was doing they were still both letting out grunts and whimpers of appreciation for what the other was doing.

Their slight state of intoxication was certainly helping things along too. He wasn't feeling nearly as hesitant about touching her or snogging her as thoroughly as he would have been sober. Sober Harry would have been looking for verbal assurance that this was all okay. Verbal assurance in the form of words, in English and everything, not just taking her sighs as permission to keep going as he was.

As her hands were traveling into his hair, his caressed their way down her back to cup her bum and give it an appreciative squeeze, causing her to rock against him again. His fingers even dared to travel slightly further south and run along that forbidden spot between her legs. His erection was already painful but when she rubbed herself back to press more against his fingers he groaned loudly.

"Shh." She captured his lips more completely.

There was no way that he would have had the nerve to continue his movements with his fingers as he had if not for the vodka. In the recesses of his mind he was thanking whomever it was that thought it was a good idea to distill potato juice and see what happened.

She was rocking eagerly against his fingers as her lips moved desperately against his. One of her hands gripped the back of his neck as the other came between them. It took a moment to realize she was undoing the button of her jeans. It wasn't until he registered the sound of a zipper being pulled that he realized what she'd done.

He pulled back in surprise and hope. She'd just undone her jeans. He couldn't see her perfectly considering the only light was from the hallway coming in through the strip under the door, but he knew for sure her eyes were full of lust. "Touch me properly." She demanded breathlessly before she pulled his mouth back to hers.

Whatever the ladies wants.

Her jeans were loose enough at the back now that his hand fit down between her bare skin and the material covering it. He slipped them under her knickers too. She was still rocking against his erection. There were so many things that he could shift his focus between at that point; how wonderful it felt to have her pressed up against him, how amazing her lips were against his, how the scent of wildflowers and vanilla coming off of her was so pleasing to his nose and how smooth her bottom felt.

He felt no desire to stop kissing her long enough to tell her he'd never done this before. How she would be the first girl he'd ever be touching intimately. He didn't want her to know how inexperienced he was, he was determined to just do his best and blame it on drink or awkward angles if he failed her horribly.

But he was sure as shit going to try it at least.

His fingers slipped between her folds. He found her to be deliciously hot and incredibly wet. She whimpered and rocked back against his fingers while she bit his lip lightly. He rubbed two fingers determinedly all along her slit, managing to meet the spot where he was still rubbing his front against her before pulling his fingers back and dipping them inside her.

The satisfied groan that came out of her at that was nearly his undoing. She liked it. A lot.

And he liked it. She was so tight and hot around his fingers. He thrust against her in time to the movements he was making with his fingers, which were sliding easily in and out of her. Never before had he been more grateful to have such long arms. He hadn't even realized before this point what a benefit this part of his anatomy would be.

He kept on with this motion, distracted from any sense of potential discomfort his body might have from this position because if there were any it was being overpowered by his overwhelming desire. He'd never wanted anything so badly in his life than he did to keep sliding his two fingers in and out of her, and dry humping against her front was bringing about that delicious pressure that was indication of an amazing release in the works for him.

Their kisses were becoming no more that the two of them groaning open mouthed against each other as he felt a tightness clamping down around his fingers. "FUCK!" She exclaimed in a hushed voice that still sounded exceptionally loud in his ears as she came undone.

That coupled with imagining just how it would feel had his member been inside her rather than his fingers had him shooting off inside his trousers as well. "Holy fuck." He moaned as he lurched forward against her, burying his head in her neck and jerking his finish a few more times.

Harry couldn't believe that happened. He didn't even have the head space to process how it was that that happened. All he knew is that he felt fucking fantastic.

And slightly chaffed he realized as he started to come down from his high.

Slowly he pulled his pelvis away from her just enough that he was no longer pressed against her and gently slid his hand up out of her knickers. She made this satisfied sighing noise when he did so that sounded like music to his ears.

They were both breathing hard and clutching at each other in order to remain upright.

"That was amazing." He managed to get out.

"Yeah." She exhaled. "I am so glad you sat down at the wrong table."

He chuckled. "You have no idea."

She simply hummed in response.

After a few minutes of collecting themselves, and a few more lazy kisses, they managed to slip out of the supply room. Neither saw anyone from the pub giving them sly looks like they'd know or heard what the two of them had just gotten up to.

Out on the street he pulled her to him. He liked how well he could see her now under the bright streetlamps. She looked rather radiant. "When can I see you again?" He asked.

"Saturday?" She sounded hopeful in her request, looking at him rather bashfully.

Harry found that even more endearing to him. After what they'd just done, she was being shy? "Can I owl you between then and now?" He was feeling slightly desperate to know that this hadn't all just been a dream. Daily reminders in the form of letters over the next two day between when he could see her again seemed like a perfect way to make that happen.

"I'd love that." She grinned, then a slightly cocky expression came over her. "Maybe when you owl what happened to Susan Bones tomorrow you should leave out some details though."

He let out an uncharacteristically loud laugh at that then managed to muffle himself. "I promise."

"Then I guess this is goodnight Harry Potter." She met his lips again for a sweet goodbye kiss.

"Goodnight Ginny Weasley." He replied and kissed her two more times before they both separated slowly, not taking their eyes off each other as they stepped backwards to a safe distance before each Apparating home.

**AN- Claiming the Smutty Bingo Tile of 'semi-public fingering'. **


	11. Counter Strike

**Prompt for this one was 'George pranks Hinny. Hinny retaliates.'**

**This one is going out to J. Jamie Dupane**

**()()**

**Counter Strike**

**()()**

Timing was everything.

Muggle Magicians, pick-pockets, quick-change artists, comedian's and pranksters alike all knew it.

George figured he fell into the last two categories. He was a funny guy. He was THE funny guy. He'd built a whole empire around that fact.

It had taken a while to get back to himself after losing his twin, but after a significant amount of time sticking his head in the sand and avoiding the world while he figured out how to cope as a single entity he managed to pick himself up and carry on.

The whole world had carried on. All his siblings, save for Charlie, were married and all of them, himself included, were creating the next generation of Weasley's.

Not Ginny though.

And not because she would actually be creating the next generation of Potters, that was merely a technicality. The offspring of Ginevra Weasley would still be a Weasley. It didn't matter that their father was the guy that saved the world. (And it was the whole world, not just the magical world. That fucker wouldn't have stopped before it was the whole world under his control.)

No, George's only sister would be creating a child that would be just as mischievous and stubborn and brilliant on a broom as she was.

And their mother was quite eager for her to start as well. The woman may have had six grand babies already, but none of the women who bore them were her own flesh and blood. Molly Weasley wanted her daughter to start riding the pregnancy train and she wanted it to start now.

She'd been dropping the not so subtle hints about it when they were all gathered together, such as suggesting that Fleur set aside whatever Louis grew out of for, you know, the next baby in the family, then tilting her head towards Ginny. Clearly the woman had forgotten that George's own son Freddy would be next in line for those hand-me-downs.

George understood his sister and her spouse's delay though. Harry hadn't had a chance to enjoy a childhood. He'd been neglected until he was eleven, and then there was an evil monster after him through his teens. He didn't have time to enjoy himself while he was in Auror training either, and that was three years long.

Ginny too was still early into her Quidditch career, and she was doing phenomenally well. She'd been at it for four years already and made it into the third Chaser position for the Holyhead Harpies in record time. The only time she was focused on anything other than Quidditch and Harry was when she was getting married, and technically all that mad wedding planning was still her focusing on Harry.

Harry and Ginny were getting rather miffed at his mum every time they went over to the Burrow now.  
George could see it in their eyes when they walked in. And that was too good of an opportunity to mess with them, by messing with his mum.

Really it was two birds with one stone he was doing here. And in the end it would be a public service he'd be doing.

There was a whole pyramid scheme he had to pull together with the kids, from one innocent and cherubic face to the other. They all loved their fun Uncle George, even Teddy. He just needed each of them to complete their task properly. Unknowing of what they would be doing, but still, that would be part of the prank.

His own child was the easiest, Frederick wasn't yet 6 months. He only needed to be a cute baby and do what cute babies do, which is cry.

All of the others. Well. This is what all of the others had to do;

()()

"Hey mum." Ginny greeted her mother with a kiss to the cheek when she arrived at the Burrow. The whole family had descended down on the Burrow for their bi-monthly get together and the place was chaotic, but it was a familiar chaotic that she loved. Her nieces and nephews were all getting so big. And honestly, it was really cool to her that they found _her _really cool. Victoire had even brought a magazine article with her picture on it so she could sign it last time, it had been a strange and wonderful feeling that her niece found her to be somewhat of a hero like that.

"Hello dear." She kissed her cheek back. "Harry outside?"

"No, he'll be along in a bit, he's just collecting Teddy from Andromeda." Ginny went over to the counter and started to help with the food prep.

"Hey mum, oh! Hey Ginny." George popped into the kitchen holding a crying Frederick. "Uh, would one of you mind?" He asked holding up his son slightly. "I've got to pop into the loo and he's not wanting to be put down at the moment."

Ginny hadn't yet gotten her hands dirty so she gladly accepted the little bundle, cooing at him. She'd gotten loads of experience with her other siblings children, and with Teddy, who was basically her part-time son at this point. Tucking the little squirming man into her arms she looked down at his, now calm, angelic face and brushed some of his fringe out of the way.

"Oh." She cooed, getting slightly emotional. "He's just." Her chin warbled. "He's just so precious. Isn't he just so precious?" Tears were forming in her eyes as she looked at him.

This wasn't a normal reaction for her to have with her brothers children. Normally she just bounced or rocked them and made funny faces until they laughed. She didn't cry over how precious they were unless it was the first time she'd ever seen them.

"Ginny?" Her mum asked with slight concern. "Are you alright dear?"

She tried to calm herself down, but she just wanted to bawl and had no excuses for it. "I don't know why!" Tears rolled down her face. "Freddy is just so freaking cute!"

"Ah, thanks for that." George came back into the kitchen. "Whoa, what's with the water works?" He asked Ginny, looking more disgusted than concerned, a typical male and brotherly reaction. The reason she tried so hard to suppress all her 'girly' feelings growing up in this house.

George took Freddy out of her arms and gave her a bewildered look before heading back through into the sitting room.

Ginny sucked in a deep breath and wiped her eyes before giving herself a shake. "I don't know what that was." She told her mum. "I'm fine, really." She cleared her throat. No more urge to cry. Her mum simply nodded at her and turned back to her task with the vegetables, still giving her looks out of the corner of her eye as she worked with the breads and cheeses.

"Hi Aunt Ginny!" Teddy ran into the kitchen and barreled straight into her with his arms immediately wrapping around her waist. He was only six now and already so tall. He'd changed his hair red to match the majority of occupants at the gathering as he usually did when he was over at the Burrow.

"Hello Teddy!" She greeted and hugged him tightly, kneeling down to wrap her arms around him properly. "How have you been doing at school? Did you make a bunch of friends this week?"

Andromeda had sent him to a Muggle primary school, having to spell his hair to stay the same colour. Thus far it was the only part of himself he'd figured out how to morph and didn't always have the best control of it. He was only five after all.

"Yeah! Isaac is my new best friend. And Matthew is not my friend anymore-" He continued relaying the intricacies of his kindergarten social structure at rapid pace until Harry mentioned Victoire was already out at the paddock with her broom, then he gave a quick hello Ginny's mum and ran back out the door. Not before snagging a piece of cheese.

Harry gave them both a kiss hello and followed his Godson outside. Not before giving Ginny a quick pinch to her bottom and making her squeak and smack his hand away with a smile to her face.

She and her mum chatted casually about this and that as various family drifted in and out the door.

"Aun-tie Gin-ny." Her niece Dominique managed to enunciate when she toddled into the kitchen.

"Hello little one!" Ginny beamed and picked up the beautiful three year old and put her in her lap as she sat at the table. "What's this you've got?" She asked in the exuberant excited voice one uses with preschoolers and took a piece of paper from her niece.

"I make it for you!" Dominique told her and gave her a slobbery kiss before squirming and running back to the sitting room.

Ginny chuckled and shared and endearing smile with her mum before looking at the paper and standing up, all the swirls on the paper though, with the black lines on the white. It was like looking at an optical illusion of sorts and had her instantly dizzy.

"Oh." She had to rest her palms on the table until her dizziness passed. "Whoa." She blew out a breath.

"Are you alright?" Her mum asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, just give me a sec." Ginny blinked her eyes a few times. "Whew." She stood up straight. "Fine, just a dizzy spell."

Her mum peered at her speculatively. "Why is it Harry went to get Teddy by himself?" She asked in what she'd obviously thought was a casual manner, but all her children and their spouses knew she used that tone when she was asking something more.

"He went over there a little early to chat with Andromeda a bit and let me have a lay in." Ginny told her straight. "Why?"

"Just curious." She smiled tightly and turned her gaze out the window.

"I'm going to head outside with everyone else." Ginny told her mum and walked out the door.

It was a nice warm day. She was about to start an intense week of training tomorrow for the beginning of a series round of games coming up. Gwenog needed all her players on top form. That meant no booze and a ton of exercise. She'd taken that morning as her last chance for a long while to sleep past 7am.

Harry, lovely man that he is, let her sleep in until 7:30 before rubbing his hands all over her and getting her worked up. It was always a nice way for her husband to wake her up. Morning shags were the best. He always went so nice and slow, so thorough. It was luxurious when they had the time for that.

She frowned wondering how long it was going to be until she got another wake-up call like that. For the next few months any morning shags were probably going to be few and far between and probably in the shower. There was little to no chance she'd be able to fall asleep right after like she had that morning.

"Hey babe." Harry greeted her. "Was she bugging you again?" He nodded towards the house. He knew how eager his mother-in-law was for them to give her another grandbaby.

"No, but she was getting there. I could see it in her eyes." She ground her teeth slightly.

"Can I get you a drink faire maiden?" Teddy asked her doing a mock bow and gesturing to the beverage table that had been laid out.

"Teddy is playing our porter. And doing a great job of it!" Harry grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Well, thank-you Theodore." Ginny said with a swotty air. "I would very much enjoy an ice water if it's not too much trouble."

"I can make a mix drink too!" He announced proudly. "Uncle Charlie showed me how to make a 'gin and tonic'. It's got part of your name in it! I can make you one of those!"

"Thank you for the offer." She chuckled. "But that drink has alcohol in it, and I can't drink that at the moment." She explained. "So I'm good with the ice water. If you want to make it fancy, why don't you go ask Grandma Molly for a slice of lime?"

A few moments later George came outside with Freddy and Teddy, Teddy carefully holding a slice of lime in his palm. George handed Freddy off to Angelina who was chatting with Fleur and came over to chat with Harry and Ginny for a bit.

Louis was handed to Ginny at one point in the conversation, he was just over one and she rested him on her hip. Fortunately she didn't well up or anything ridiculous like she had with Freddy, but unfortunately he did get some dirt on the front of her shirt. Harry helped her wipe it off and then they were all called to the table for dinner.

Little Molly wanted to sit next to Ginny and she'd been sharing part of her plate with her aunt.

Unfortunately something that Molly had shared was making everything taste a little off. "Does this smell a little soapy to you?" She asked Harry, who was on the other side of her, offering up a forkful of her mashed potatoes.

He simply leaned over and ate it off of her fork. "No." He said before swallowing and shrugging. "Tastes good to me."

The rest of the meal Ginny tried to suppress her nausea and engage in conversation around the table, but everything smelled and tasted wrong. She didn't say anything more, but couldn't help the faces she'd been making.

All the men brought in the dirty dishes after the meal was done, as was now tradition at the Weasley gatherings. The wives had put their feet down about that three years ago when two of them had been pregnant and irritable. Now it was permanently the men's work.

They brought dessert out and Victoire came to sit in her lap, her front pressed against her eldest nieces back while they ate. Luckily the dessert didn't taste or smell at all off to her and she scarfed down her chocolate cake and was eyeing the treacle tart when she started to feel uncomfortable. Not in her stomach though. Her breasts. It hurt to have her niece's weight against them, even slightly. "Sweetie, why don't you go and sit by Teddy?" Ginny suggested.

Victoire didn't think anything of it, but she pushed back from the table and into Ginny a little hard as she got down off her lap and Ginny winced, sucking in a breath.

"You okay?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." She shifted uncomfortably, not wanted to grope her own breasts at the family dinner table. "It's just." She leaned over. "My breasts really hurt for some reason."

"Alright! That's it." From the other side of Harry her mum threw her napkin down. "I don't know why you don't just admit it to me! Why are you hiding it? Why?" She glared at Ginny, then Harry.

They looked at each other bewildered before turning back to her. "Admit what?"

"You are obviously pregnant. Why wouldn't you just tell me?"

"WHAT?!" Ginny yelled. "What do you mean I'm 'obviously' pregnant?" She stood up. "Does this look like the belly of a pregnant woman?" She gestured to her Quidditch toned stomach. Which was flat.

"You've been getting emotional for no reason, having dizzy spells, you aren't drinking, you couldn't eat your dinner because you were nauseous, and yet scarfed down your dessert, and now your breast hurt!" She rattled off. "And don't think I didn't see Harry rubbing your belly earlier." She pointed out as though she were proud of her detective skills.

Everyone was staring at Ginny with wide eyes and clamped mouths at that. Except for her mother who was still scowling with narrowed eyes and crossed arms, and Harry who was staring at her belly in wonder.

"Harry was wiping the dirt from Louis shoes off my shirt, and I'm not drinking because I'm in deep training tomorrow." She pointed out.

"And what about everything else, hmm?" Her mum wasn't backing down.

"Well." Ginny started off angry, but she didn't have an explanation for it. As she stared at her mother she quickly did period math in her head. She was due to start in a few days, but was she late? It was generally around this time that she got it. "Well..." She trailed off with less conviction.

Her mum wasn't looking angry any more. "You. You didn't know?" She asked.

Ginny looked down at Harry then. This wasn't when they'd planned to have kids, but accidents happened. "I. I don't know."

Before anything more could be said Hermione jumped up from the table. "I'll go brew the potion!" She practically shouted and ran into the house.

Ginny sat down hard in her chair, still staring at her husband. "I don't know." She repeated.

"You could be?" He didn't look upset at the possibility.

"I guess. I could be." She answered unsure and was trying to think back to if she'd been delayed in taking her monthly potion at all.

"Oh! Well this is so wonderful!" Her mum gushed. "You are going to be such wonderful parents!" Tears of excitement were coming to her eyes.

Ginny suddenly felt nauseous again, but it had to do with her mother's over reaction to it all than with Ginny not being ready for this. She was only just about to turn 22 after all. They still had plenty of time to have kids down the road. The first by the time she was thirty sounded fine to her.

The men got up and cleared away the dessert dishes again as she sat there anxiously. Ginny really wished this hadn't all happened when the entire family was around.

Hermione came back outside with the pregnancy test potion in a mug for her. All she had to do was drink it and if her belly glowed blue she was pregnant, if it glowed white she wasn't.

"Cheers!" She lifted her mug in a slightly resentful salute and downed the liquid.

Ginny couldn't look, she closed her eyes tight and waited, feeling comfortable enough to let everyone else's reaction tell her the results. Harry was right beside her, gripping her hand and he gave out a sigh that she couldn't translate. It could have been a relieved sigh of 'I'm going to be a father' or one of 'oh thank god I don't have another responsibility right now'. Her mum's disappointment rang out clear enough though.

Ginny opened her eyes and looked down at the white light that was now dissipating and gave her own sigh of relief, sharing a smile with Harry. This was good news. A few more years was what they wanted for it to be just the two of them.

"Well then." Her mum huffed. "What was all that about?" She gestured to Ginny's whole being.

It was then that George burst out laughing.

The whole family turned to stare at him as he had a small melt down at the table.

Ginny thought over everything that had happened that day. She'd had very little interaction with George directly, but he was acting the way he normally did when one of his plans was perfectly executed.

"George?" Her father asked sternly. "What did you do?"

"Oh. It was just so perfect!" He laughed. "I couldn't resist!"

"George!" Ginny screeched. "What did you do?!"

"Oh, calm down." He leaned back in his chair. "Just a few potions here, a few charms there. Maybe an anti-relief cream over the back of a shirt with a barrier between it and Victoire." He shrugged. "It all played out masterfully." He preened.

Ginny connected all the dots. Her nieces and nephews! "You used the kids to make me and mum think I was pregnant?!" She asked in outrage. "You think that's funny do you?" She stood up to launch herself across the table at him, but Harry stopped her.

"You can't risk getting injured!" He reminded her. She did have to be in top form for tomorrow. "I don't though." He said dangerously before turning to George and pulling out his wand.

George yelped and ran off towards the pond with Harry chasing him.

The thrashing that George received that night was minor, but it got everyone laughing and Ginny felt much better after watching her husband physically throw her brother in the pond.

()()

Three weeks later George woke up in bed and stretched out. He could hear Angelina in the other room with Freddy. He was so grateful to have her in his life. She'd made everything better, and she was so understanding of what he'd gone through missing his twin.

These past few weeks he'd been appreciating her so much more than usual.

His emotions were really all over the place lately and he was trying to get a handle on them most of the time. He was up one minute, down the next. He was tired, he was sore. He could be laughing hysterically, then crying hysterically. And his nipples hurt. That was the oddest one.

His nausea and consequent vomiting seem to have passed though. It must have been a bug he had. That was the only reason for it he could think of.

Getting out of bed he went to the shower to get ready for the day.

Part of the great thing about having a wife was that he had a team member in his life to notice things that he might not. Like when they were getting low on toothpaste and such like that. She was always replacing his hygienic care products before he even remembered they were nearly out.

Take his shower wash for instance. He thought as he picked it up and started rubbing it in his hands before applying it. Angelina had replaced it when it was getting low a few weeks ago. She'd grabbed him a different brand, but it looked really close to the old one, and it smelled fine. But she'd done that with-out his having to bring it up.

As he rubbed the lather over himself he noticed that the label was peeling off of the bottle and there was something underneath it.

Curious he brought it closer and peeled off the rest of the label and read, his eyes growing wide.  
Horror filled his body before he tossed it roughly towards the bin outside the shower and knocked the whole think over before crumpling to a ball at the base of the tub and turning hysterical again. He honestly didn't know if he was laughing or crying because that was a brilliant thing for them to have done. It was sneaky and clever and he hadn't seen it coming. It also explained everything.

Three weeks of using that and he hadn't seen the warning until now. They'd probably designed it that way. That sounded like something Ginny would do.

As he sat having his laugh cry in the tub the bottle of body wash was slowly drip drying on the bath mat beside all the other various disposed of bathroom products, the warning on it flashing through a colour spectrum on repeat;

Warning: Prolonged use of estrogen cream will result include; Nausea, vomiting, bloating, stomach pain, breast tenderness, headache, weight changes, mood changes and dark areas of the skin on the face.  
The Potter family doesn't recommend George uses it anymore and refrains from bringing harm to himself by way of retaliation in the future.


	12. Carpet Ride

**Prompt for this one- Smutty Magic Carpet ride. I was going back and forth between humming 'A Whole New World' from Aladdin, and Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf.**

**()()()**

**Carpet Ride**

**()()()**

It felt like they were on a water bed.

The way that the material beneath them bobbed and swayed in the wind it was the exact same as she'd felt that time they'd tested out mattresses and she'd tried to get comfortable on the waterbed as the water sloshed around under her.

They didn't go with that option for their master bedroom mattress for a multitude of reasons, but one major one was that she didn't want to get sea sick every time they made love. Undoubtedly the movements of the water coupled with the movements of her husband wouldn't always compliment each other. Plus some of the positions they tried when they were going for an intense session just wouldn't work. She needed a solid surface to grab hold of.

She hadn't thought about that when he suggested they cross this little experience off their bucket list. She'd just been excited by the prospect of shagging him while being suspended in mid-air on something wider than two inches beneath them.

There were a few stipulations she'd put in place before they were going to go ahead with it though. She'd learned from previous experiences that even with new and exciting adventures she still required a few basic comforts, and because she didn't want to have any more embarrassing accidents;

1\. It had to be warm enough out

2\. No inclement weather

3\. They had to be warded against anyone seeing them

4\. They had to be reasonably sober

5\. Any messing around in the air meant they had to have a safety net in case they somehow fell.

And if all those were in place then she didn't care whether it was in the middle of the day or the middle of the night.

He'd pouted when she'd made that list up because it took some of the thrill out, but didn't argue because he was still getting to do whatever it was he or she wanted to try. She didn't care how much he pouted about it either. She was not going to relive the failed Broom Shagging incident again or anything close to it.

He'd managed to find the perfect day and location and figured out the correct wards. Harry had even gotten a larger sized Magic Carpet as well.

Ginny wasn't sure where he'd found it. The only one's she'd seen before were when she was visiting her brother in Egypt. All the one's she'd seen then were essentially single person use. This one Harry brought home was nearly the size of a twin bed.

She had to chuckle at how excited he was about this, and she hoped her safety concerns to dampen his excitement. Which was funny because it was generally him that had all the safety concerns.

She'd known exactly what outfit she wanted to wear for this since he'd added it to their bucket list.

Ah, the bucket list. It was something they created on their honeymoon. It had come up in a post coital daze after Ginny had introduced a small toy to their couplings and that little toy had amplified the experience a previously inconceivable amount. Harry had opted to try the tiny toy on himself too and had an impressive finish in record time. Then they'd lain there talking about all the where, what's and how's that they might want to try.

The Magic Carpet was added recently by Harry after they'd seen a cartoon movie where the two main characters had a romantic interlude on one, but hadn't 'got it on'. Harry had commented that that was a wasted opportunity, then promptly told her they had to give it a go.

Now she was on her back on the carpet as it swayed and bobbed with her legs wrapped around her husband's middle.

It was still a little chilly out but he was doing a really good job of warming her up. His mouth was tracing hot kisses down her neck and as far down as her v-cut romper allowed between her breasts then back up again. His hands were wandering all over her body as well.

Merlin he really knew how to get her going, even when she was uncomfortable he knew how to get her mind off of whatever the discomfort was and focus on how hot he was making her. He'd perfected this over the years. However rarely it was that she just wasn't in the mood he could give her this look and smirk that would change her mind.

And his hands. Gods, his touch was always setting her off. It didn't matter if she was angry, or worse hungry. Once his hands were on her, caressing her bottom or just pulling her against him, whenever he put those hands against her bare skin she was always submitting to him. She wanted to damn him for having this power over her, but it made her feel powerful to be the one constantly riling him up. So all in all she didn't mind him ravishing her suspended in the air, no matter how initially uncomfortable she might find it.

He'd been delighted to see the romper she'd chosen to wear as well. The first time she'd put this on to sleep in he'd pinned her to the sheets so fast.

It wasn't like it was a flimsy silky thing that showed off a lot of skin, but according to him it showed off just the right amount. It had full sleeves and covered her breasts and torso completely, but the shorts on it cut off really high, and the fabric was stretchy enough that he could simply pull the bit between her legs to the side to have his way with her. Apparently the material and midnight blue star design on it made her look like a 'super hero'. She still wasn't sure what that meant, but he'd been balls deep inside her when he said it and she hadn't been curious enough to ask what that meant.

Getting to where they were currently had been fun. He'd Apparated them to the Potter country manor house and they went for a brief spin around the property. As they'd dipped and dived around the grounds he had started kissing her neck, then tracing his thumb along her exposed thighs. She could feel him shifting to find a comfortable seated position behind her. Then he'd pulled the Carpet to a stop where they were and threw up the wards.

After a simple 'how do you want me' asked by her with a saucy smirk he'd gotten her straight on her back, snogging her to his heart's content as they wavered in the air.

She was a great deal worked up now and would have simply banished his trousers if she'd had her wand on her. Not something this outfit had allowed though. "Harry, please." She begged as he once more rubbed his erection along the inside of her leg, something he'd done quite a few times. She wanted it to be inside her already!

"Hmm? You eager for it then?" He teased and continued placing his open mouthed kisses all over the exposed skin on her chest.

"Fuck yes!" She ground herself against him.

"You asked me how I wanted you?" He asked, she could hear his smile in how lightly he asked the question.

"Yes. How?" She asked desperately.

Quickly and carefully he rolled them over so she was on top. "Now turn around and hop on." He ordered, using his sexiest voice.

'Yes!' She thought. She loved this position and was just the right amount of worked up for it. Maneuvering herself so she was straddling his stomach and facing away from him she released him from his trousers and pushed them down his thighs. He sprang free and pointed directly up for her.

Biting her lip in a grin she braced one hand down on his thigh and pulled the cloth between her legs to the side as she positioned herself over him, rolling her hips as she lowered herself down until he was fully inside her. Her eyes and head rolled back at the sensation of him filled her. From this position he always felt so deep. His exclamation of pleasure behind her and hands on her hips was all the go ahead she needed to start riding him.

It was slightly alarming to open her eyes and look down over the side of the carpet and see how far above the tree's they were. He'd stopped them over top of the pond on the property, but she wouldn't be able to see it unless she leaned over, and she wasn't going to do that.

The sun was setting around them as she bucked her hips up and down in a steady rhythm, wanting to groan in appreciation every time the head of his dick hit that spot deep in side her.

Birds were doing their final fly round of the day before settling back into the tree's for the night and she watched them soar around them as she leaned backwards, his knee's coming up and planting his feet for leverage to begin thrusting into her.

Ginny's back arched and she let out a loud groan as he fucked into her at this angle. The sound of his exclamations through gritted teeth was spurring her on further.

"Down." She commanded after a few moments, wanting his legs to go straight so she could sit properly astride him again and begin giving it her all.

"Oh yeah. Fast, like that." He moaned as she rode him fast.

His feet were turning upward slightly, which is what they did when he was getting close, like his toes were indicating to his balls the way they needed to go in order for him to reach his release. That was her sign to start touching herself.

Two of her fingers came down to where they were joined, coating herself in the slickness that was now covering the base of him, then raising them up slightly to rub firm circles around her clit. The swaying that the carpet was causing was adding to the dizzy pressure that was growing in her head as her finish was building.

Her eyes shut tight as she swallowed down the scream that wanted to tear through her from her orgasm.

"Yes!" He yelled as he shot off inside her, bucking up into her roughly and causing her to cry out loudly with every complete thrust.

Once he'd finished milking himself off inside her she delicately unsheathed him and lay back to rest her back against his torso.

They caught their breath and both lay there contentedly watching the night creep in across the sky. "This was much better than the broom." Ginny admitted with a silly smile on her face.

Harry snorted. "Couldn't get much worse, that's for sure." They both snickered at how true that was. He stilled and stroked her hair. "I'm glad we did it at this time of day."

"Yeah." She sighed contentedly. "This is a nice sunset." The sky was turning inky black from purple right then, but the orange's and reds had been beautiful. Seeing the stars beginning to shine through was lovely.

"I meant how I had such a nice sight while you were on top." He grinned as he stroked her arm.

"Oh yeah?" She encouraged him to continue.

"Yeah. The bit of sunshine left was really making your hair shine and outlining your sexy body." He kissed the top of her head and trailed his hands down her sides, then up to cup her breasts. "So." He started. "Think you'd be up for giving this one a go again?"

Ginny grinned. "Yeah."

**()()()**

**The Broom Shagging 'Incident' will be in the next one shot ;)**


	13. Comet 180

**Prompt for this one- 'Smut on a broom'. Trying to keep this 'realistic'.**

**()()()**

**Comet 180**

**()()()**

They were snickering and trying to hush each other as they crept down the stairs and through the kitchen out into the yard. Everyone had already gone to bed and they'd had to keep each other awake long enough to insure that everyone would be completely asleep before they snuck out.

They were acting like teenagers, but they felt like teenagers so that was fair. It was her parents house they were sneaking out of after all, and they were rather intoxicated.

But her parents house was the one that had the Comet brooms. Their house only had the Firebolt and Firebolt two. Neither of those brooms would have had the room for this.

At the broom shed he pressed her against the open door for a quick and thorough snog, rubbing her in all the right places that he knew were sure to get her going. She giggled against his lips though and he pulled back. Clearly Ginny was too giddy about this to be overly wanton right then. Harry himself couldn't help chuckling a bit too.

Sex on a broom.

He'd certainly enjoyed going for a few rides with her pressed right up against him, but they'd never tried to actually carry through with the act on a broom before. They'd always landed somewhere and taken care of each other on the safety that ground provided.

The brooms they'd been on too weren't meant for two people either, which was why they decided to 'borrow' one of the Weasley Family Comet brooms. They were larger, had a bigger footrest and more stability. It would be completely possible for Harry and she to get it on on a broom like that. But trying to think up a reason to borrow it and attempt this away from the Burrow they couldn't come up with.

That's why they waited until there was a family shindig that would give them the reason to stay the night.

Doing their best to muffle their laughter Ginny found the large family size Comet 180 that was almost twenty years old. It was at the back of the broom shed and didn't look to have been used since before Ginny had started Hogwarts. She cast a halfhearted cleaning charm on it to get the dust and cobwebs off and carried it around to the other side of the shed from the Burrow.

Ginny was wearing a long night shirt and nothing else, it had gotten rather chilly since the sun had gone down and she was shivering slightly. The dew settling in the grass at their feet wasn't helping stave the cold of from their skin either. The bottoms of his pajama's were getting damp and he was eager to be getting in the air soon as his socked feet were growing damp.

"Okay." She whispered and held the broom handle between her legs and gestured for Harry to jump on behind her.

He threw his leg over the wood and pressed himself right up against her, eager and excited to get this show on the road. The chill in the air was causing a bit of a delay in his usual show of excitement at the prospect of a shag. Once they were airborne though he was sure he'd be right where he needed to be.

They hadn't talked through just how they were going to do this, but there was no doubt in his mind that they both had the same position in mind. It would essentially be him taking her from behind while her legs were hooked behind his calves. Thinking about the position was getting him going nicely enough, he was beginning to stir as he kicked off from the ground and directed them towards the copse of trees beyond the makeshift Quidditch pitch.

Ginny had shifted backwards and leaned down closer to the broom, twirling her hips and chuckling a bit as she ground herself enticingly against him. Harry gripped the broom on either side of her torso, directing them between the branches and copied her movements as best he could.

It was a rather awkward angle to be holding the broom in though. He needed to bow his elbows out to get them around her middle. He was maneuvering between the branches and realized that this wasn't the best place for them to be when he tried this. "I'm going to pull up up above the tree's." He told her and aimed them upwards.

'Much better' he thought when they had only the night sky above and around them. He didn't have to keep swerving here.

Securing his feet in the holds he sat up, simply suspending them mid-air and ran his hands over her thighs and along her bum while she continued her movement with her hips. He pulled up the back of her night dress and she leaned down until she was flush with the wood.

"Hook your legs." He said getting very hard with her essentially presenting herself for him. He held on steady to her side while he took one of her ankles and positioned it how he'd expected her to be the most secure.

She was still shivering slightly, so was he. Neither of them had a wand on them though because they'd worried it would fall during the act, so he couldn't cast a warming charm on them.

His view of her derriere was a nice sight under the stars though, that was warming him up a bit. And the cold wasn't effecting his erection any more. He shifted around a bit to get it positioned properly, but her entrance was too close to the wood at this angle.

"I need you to hook your legs more securely against my thighs." He told her. She'd need to be sort of hovering about and inch higher if this was going to work.

"Mmkay." She said with some strain as she attempted to maneuver herself in the manner that he'd said.

Harry leaned back to grip the broom behind him with one hand and held onto her hip with the other and she essentially sat on him.

Huh, this was a lot harder than he'd fantasized it to be. Maybe he should have entered her while they were still on the ground? No. He could manage this. Currently his dick was pressed up against his belly between her cheeks, he needed to get it underneath her though.

"Okay. Maybe if I just." She started and pressed more weight on his calves to pull herself forward enough so he could straighten out his erection. He grabbed hold of himself once their was enough room between them and the broom listed to the right as he lost control for a minute. Ginny squeaked and rocked backwards.

"Oof." Harry let out as she was pressed back up against him firmly. It was lucky that he had angled himself how he had. If he was a little bit higher than her squeak would have been much, much louder. As it was he was now inside her correctly. He let out a anxious chuckle, that could have been very painful for both of them and ruined their night.

Ginny grunted again. "Okay." She said after a moment. Her heart must have calmed down after that little fright and she'd grown accustomed to him inside her now.

It was hard to move though. He couldn't quite get any thrusting movements. "Maybe if you just grind back against me?" He suggested.

She hummed in response, but it wasn't her usual 'I'm so hot right now' hum. It was the 'I'm concentrating and this is difficult' hum. Her torso was pressed hard against the length of the wood.

The twirling of her hips wasn't really doing it for him though. It still felt great to be inside her, but he needed more than that.

"Okay. What if I." He started and leaned down over top of her, straightening up his legs so he wasn't properly seated on the broom, but was more suspended with his weight on the footrests. His arms were gripping the wood just beneath hers, but at this angle he was able to rock into her.

"Oh! Yes." Ginny gasped. "That's good."

"Yeah." He grinned. This was working. He basically had her in a downward dog pose.

He managed to keep that up for a few minutes, their pants and grunts getting more intense as it usually did. His concentration on where the broom was going was no longer his priority though and neither of them had been paying attention to how they were drifting back towards the Burrow.

"You like that?" He grunted as his movements were starting to get rougher. He was feeling plenty warm now.

She moaned pleasurably in response.

There was a 'chink' sound and the foot hold on the right gave way. They both fell sideways, him slipping out of her with the fall, and each letting out surprised yelp. He managed to hold onto the broom, his left foot still locked into the other foothold and his knee bracing against the wood. Ginny too managed to grab hold with only her hand the other dangling, but her strangled cry meant he knew something was hurting her, and from the way her leg was trapped at an odd angle with her ankle between his leg and the broom he was sure she'd gotten injured.

He was good in panic situations though. He managed to right himself onto the broom and guide them towards the ground. Her ankle slipped and now she was dangling from just one hand. He gripped her at her elbow, but would have preferred it not be the arm that was already holding onto the broom. He couldn't reach the other though.

If he turned into a dive then it might cause her to lose her grip. They'd drifted out of the tree's though, that was a plus.

The pond!

He aimed for the pond in a slow descent and had reached the middle of it at a height of only about twenty feet before she lost her grip and fell into the water with a cry and making a loud splash.

Harry quickly guided the broom to the dock and set it down, quickly tucking himself back into his pajama bottoms as he reached the edge of the dock. "Ginny!" He called out.

She was awkwardly making her way to shore, sputtering and cursing. Her leg had to have been injured. He watched with a pained expression as she reached the reeds along the perimeter and limped out of the water.

Rushing around to help her the rest of the way out he was cursing their stupidity. That had not been an altogether pleasant experience. Why hadn't they just hovered their broom above their bed to try it out at least?

"Ginny. I am so sorry!" He started.

"Save it." She bit. She was in pain, and he'd dropped her from twenty feet in the air into frigid water. He'd be snarling like that too. Saving his voice he stepped forward and picked her up bridal style to carry her into the house. She didn't protest, she just buried her face in his neck and let out a whimper of pain.

Thankfully his Auror training had given him the upper body strength to manage he slight uphill that they had to travel to get back to the kitchen. He only had about two and a half stone on her. That wasn't a sizable difference.

Setting her down before the door to the house she leaned heavily on his shoulder as he maneuvered his wife to sit at the table.

Hermione was there waiting for them when they came in with crossed arms and a disapproving expression. Harry blushed under her gaze but said nothing as his friend cast a drying spell on the both of them.

"I. Uh." He started. "We."

"Mmhmm?" From the look on Hermione's face she had already figured out what happened. That or she'd seen it.

"I'm going to go grab my wand." Harry said and rushed towards the stairs, cursing himself silently the whole way. Ginny's wand was beside his on the nightstand in her childhood bedroom, he grabbed them both.

"Harry?" Molly came out of her room, right across the hall from Ginny's and Harry stopped short when she saw her. "Is everything alright?"

"Uh." He'd been adopted into the family ages ago, married to their youngest for two years now and lived through a war with this woman. He mean he was comfortable telling her that Ginny got hurt in some failed sexcapade though. "We went for a midnight fly and things went south." He could admit that much. "Ginny's ankle I think is twisted or broken." His face must have been tomato red by now. The lighting wouldn't show that too well, thank Merlin.

She straightened up immediately and pulled her wand from her house coat, rushing down the stairs.

"Ginny! You could have been hurt way worse than that. It wasn't safe." Hermione was scolding.

"Says the girl who freed and flew on a dragon." Ginny growled back, just loud enough to hear.

"What wasn't safe?" Molly asked. "Harry said you were going for a midnight fly?" She took up in front of Ginny, Hermione immediately moving out of the way and clamping her lips shut.

A few candles had been lit in the kitchen and Ginny turned bright red, her anger quickly giving way to embarrassment. Hermione and Ron had all with them at Grimmauld Place for a time and had seen and heard a few things they'd all rather not have over the years. He wasn't overly mortified about what she might have seen that night. Molly Weasley though. They didn't need her knowing the truth.

"Hermione doesn't think going for a midnight fly, particularly on the same broom, was a safe idea." Harry supplied.

There was a snapping noise and Ginny let out a shocked gasp and moan at her leg being righted.

"It was a break." Molly pursed her lip and went to the cupboard.

Harry rushed over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her as best he could to try and comfort her from the pain she was feeling. Ever the strong woman she was though she wasn't crying out about it, only a few tears rolling down her cheek. He kissed them away and then pressed his forehead against her temple. "I'm so sorry."

She sucked in a deep breath to steal herself against the pain from her injury. "Not your fault." She leaned her head slightly more against his. "At least you managed to get me to fall into the pond. It could have been worse."

Molly brought over some Skele-grow potion and forced it upon her daughter. Ginny drank it down dutifully.

"I'm afraid that old Comet 180 is a little worse for the wear now." Harry told his mother-in-law. "One of the footrests broke off it. That's how this happened." He told her with an apologetic smile.

She paused in her movements and turned to both of them. Harry could see her slipping from nurse-mom mode to skeptical and calculating mom mode. "Must have been a lot of weight you put on that to have it break off. Those are one of the sturdiest on the market, even given its age." Molly took up the pain relief bottle from the table and fed some of that to Ginny as well.

"Uhh." Harry floundered. He looked to Hermione, but she was smirking at him and wasn't going to be of any assistance. "I." He looked to his wife. The pain potion was calming her and she relaxed against his arm. Didn't look like she was going to help him either. "I don't know what to tell you." He said plainly.

Molly's eyes were bright and she chuckled at him. "I think you'll find that the Swiftstick is a better design for a 'midnight fly'."

Harry stared at her in shock as Hermione made a strangled and surprised sound before starting to giggle. "I think you'll find that disillusioning yourselves would help too." Hermione added.

He buried his face in Ginny's hair. He wished he'd been given some pain potion too so he'd be as loopy right now as she was.

**()()()**

**There is no way that shagging on a broom wouldn't wind up with someone getting hurt.**

**My God, could you imagine if someone got a sliver?!**


	14. Caught in the Act

**Bingo Smut tile- Getting Caught.**

**This is another AU where Ginny and Harry never met. Bill and Fleur have though, but they didn't feel the rush to get married right away.**

**()()()**

**Caught in the Act**

**()()()**

Ginny had never thought of herself as a vain person.

She put effort into her appearance, but it wasn't hours in front of the mirror trying to tame her hair or standing in front of the closet all morning to find the perfect outfit kind of effort. And she generally had a casual and cool laid-back demeanor.

But today she knew that she had to make more of an effort. Today was the day she'd been dreading ever since the obligation had been brought up. It was going to be pure torture, but there was nothing she could do but bitch to her friends and try not to make it seem like she was too jealous.

Because she was jealous.

These girls were all cultured, they were polished, they were gorgeous.

They were also intelligent and really nice.

That made it all the worse.

People weren't supposed to be all those things rolled into one magnificent being. You had to choose two out of three. It kept things fair. You could either be nice and smart, or you could be pretty and nice. Smart and pretty was an option too, but only if you were a bitch.

These girls weren't bitches.

She let out a sigh and a growl as she ripped her blouses off of their hangers to try and figure out some ensemble that would work and found nothing.

She'd had three weeks to figure out an outfit, but she'd been busy with work and her real life. She hadn't had time to worry about how she was going to stand out like a sore thumb in Fleur's bridal party.

Today was the 'event'.

Not the wedding, it was worse than the wedding. It was the full day that had been set aside to celebrate the fact that the half-Veela was marrying into her family. And as the token female for her generation, Ginny just 'had to be there'.

All of Fleur's friends were coming into London from Paris or wherever for the get together and they were all fairly high up on the hotness scale with fantastic careers and had been so nice during the correspondence leading up to this event. She'd been Floo called at least twice by each of them and they had been so fucking nice that she'd wanted to spit after they'd ended the calls.

It was depressing to think about why it was bothering her so much.

She'd need to find some dumb and ugly yet nice friends to boost her spirits.

Okay, now she was the devil.

Looking into her full-length mirror with a potential dress held up against her front she gave a deep sigh. "You can do this." She told herself. "You will be nice. You like Fleur. You like her friends. No one will be wondering what the fuck you could possibly be doing with the glam-squad."

Picking out her best casual yet dressy summer dress with three quarter length sleeves and a nice scooped neckline that showed off a tasteful amount of cleavage, she pulled it on, making sure that her knickers and bra were the nice one's that matched so she'd feel a little more confident. "You are a professional Quidditch player. You are smart enough. You could easily pick up the hottest guy in the bar if you tried." Her jaw was set as she told herself this in the mirror.

"Once more with feeling." She encouraged her mirror image out loud with fake enthusiasm and managed a pleasant and happy smile.

"Much more convincing dear." The mirror told her.

"Good enough." She shrugged and picked up her kitten heels from the floor of the closet. Her feet were going to be killing her by the end of the night, but the pain would be the reminder to keep a smile on her face.

She Apparated to a spot near Diagon Alley, not wanting to get soot all over her. They were all meeting up at a Ritzy hotel in the center of London for a light luncheon first.

Luncheon.

Gah. That meant tea and tiny sandwiches.

'Oh'. Ginny stopped in her tracks as she was walking down the street in the direction of said hotel. She did not get full off of tiny sandwiches and tea. She needed real food in order to not let her resentful and bitchy side show.

Scanning her surroundings for potential prepared food sources she saw a Pret-A-Manger but wasn't feeling portion sized meager sandwiches. There was a Costa Coffee but wasn't interested in a muffin or getting bagel seeds stuck in her teeth. There was a train station though. That meant a Cornish Pasty stand.

Perfect.

Finishing off her food under ten minutes later she was wiping her mouth with her napkin and looking for a reflective surface to make sure she'd gotten all evidence wiped away.

Turning around quickly because she'd seen a toilet sign behind her, she bumped headlong into someone who had apparently been drinking coffee.

"Oh fuck." The man exclaimed as she gasped in shock at the liquid that was running from her chest down her dress and legs.

The two of them stood there staring at each other in shock while the people around them snickered. 'It's okay. It's okay.' She chanted in her head. She could just get to the toilet and clean this up quickly with her wand. Everything would be fine.

"I am so sorry." The man apologized slowly.

"Not your fault." She managed to gulp as she continued to stand stalk still and feel the drops of coffee run down her legs.

"Saw what happened." A thick cockney accent said appearing beside them. "Here." The short man handed over a pile of napkins.

Ginny was raising her hand to accept them when the coffee man snatched them out of his hand. "Thanks." He said sounding panicked and started patting her down.

"Oi!" She exclaimed. "Mind getting your hands of my chest?" She plucked the napkins out of his hand and began wiping herself off.

He had frozen with his hand still outstretched and a blush coming to his face. "I did not mean to do that."

"Yeah, fine. Whatever." She bent over and wiped at the droplets on her legs. Standing up again she regarded the man with pursed lips. She'd been looking at him before, but not registering what he'd looked like. Now she was the one gawking at him. "Holy shit."

He blinked at her a few times. "W-what?" he was taken aback.

"Well. You." They were in the Muggle world right then she remembered and quickly looked around to see if they still had a few spectators, which they did. "Um. Nothing." She blushed and stifled a laugh before patting herself down some more.

He continued to look bewildered. "What?" He repeated.

Ginny bit her lip but couldn't stop her laugh from escaping. "Just. I know who you are." She a huff of a laugh made it past her lips.

His expression dropped to one of shock, then he looked sheepish. "Oh."

"Yeah." She drew out. "Well, at least you won't have any questions if you see me coming out of the toilet in a minute looking as though this didn't happen." She mused, gesturing to her formerly cream-colored dress that was now a tarnished brown color down the front.

He gave her a crooked smile that if she had more time for, she would have tried to appreciate how good that looked on him for longer. Every time she'd seen a picture of him in the paper, he'd looked angry or unimpressed. The smile on him looked so god damn attractive. That smile coupled with his amazing green eyes were an absolute panty dropper.

Feeling herself growing warm from her train of thought she took a step back from him. "Well. I'm just going to go and. Um. Clean all this up, um, properly." She grinned awkwardly and pointed to the loo area.

"Right." His hand came up to the nape of his neck. "Sorry about that. And, sorry for." He held his hands out in front of him and looked like he instantly regretted the obvious cupping mime he was displaying.

Ginny shook with laughter. "Don't worry about it." She bit her lip. "Uh. Nice... meeting you?"

"Right." He looked like he wanted to burrow into the ground.

She managed to properly turn away from him then and get into the loo. Everyone already in there was too busy trying to get to where they were going and avoiding eye contact. That was perfect for her situation. Ducking into a stall she quickly cast a few drying and cleaning spells and used the loo since she was in there already.

Checking her appearance in the mirror she saw it was much the same as it was when she'd left her flat about... looking down at her watch she let out a few curses. She was late!

Now the nice, beautiful and intelligent girls were going to think she was a procrastinator or something.

One last sideways glance at herself and she hurried out of the loo and train station and continued on her way to the hotel restaurant.

All the girls were already at a table by the window when she reached the place. Gabrielle, Fleur's sister, caught sight of her and gave a radiant smile and wave through the glass that Ginny did her best to return.

She'd just tell them all what happened, less the fact that it had been Harry freaking Potter's coffee! Then the story would be laughed at and they could move on to telling her about their amazing and glamorous lives.

Getting to the table she greeted her future sister in law with a kiss to both cheeks and took a seat by Gabrielle, whom she knew a little better than the rest of them. After the short version of her excuse for her tardiness she struck up a conversation with Gabrielle about what she'd been doing since she'd finished at Beaubaton the month previous.

The luncheon lasted three hours, and Ginny was very happy that she'd stopped for food before arriving. The waifish girls all ate incredibly sparingly, and she would have looked like such a pig if she piled her plate high with the tiny morsel options spread across the table.

"Ok!" The maid of honor, Brigette, clapped her hands once to draw everyone's attention. "Il est maintenant temp...oh!" She looked at Ginny and gave a pretty blush and smile. "Excusez-moi." She cleared her throat delicately. "Now it is time for the next event." She managed in a slow and heavily accented English.

The other girls tittered, and Gabrielle put her hand on top of Ginny's. Brigette had forgotten for a moment that Ginny didn't Parle- le- Francais, and it was just the right amount of amusing to everyone. Ginny gave the most politely humored smile she could manage and waited for her to continue.

"Now we must work off dees lovely food."

Ginny wanted to scoff but managed with just casting an amused glance to Fleur who grinned at her knowingly and gave a small eye-roll. Fleur knew how much the Weasley's could eat.

"We going to de Flying Squirrel for le classe d'exercice sur les trampolines!" Brigette announced like a reveal was just made. Fleur was the only one who hadn't known about this and she looked appropriately surprised and excited.

Ginny had been looking forward to this part. She'd done all different types of workouts before. Gwenog had enthusiastically introduced the team to Zumba, Tai Bo, Karate, and Capoeira. Doing an exercise class on trampolines sounded like a lot of fun.

They all got switched into work out gear at the facility. It had wall to wall trampolines, foam pits and a few hoops attached to a section of the wall on one side that was for some muggle sport with a ball. Ginny eagerly rushed for that before Gabrielle guided her towards the main area where their class was going to take place.

A lady at the front with something attached to her head like a headband started talking over music that was pumping from a sound system and telling them what to do.

Ginny was giggling with glee at the feeling of bouncing on the trampoline and attempting to do as the instructor was telling them. All the girls from the party looked to be doing the exact same thing she was. It wasn't until the class ended after 45 minutes and they were all back on solid ground that she really started feeling it in her calves. She wasn't sweating nearly as bad as the other girls, but damn, that was a real work out.

Gilese, a 5"10 brunette turned to her after they were back in the change room "Vous ne l'avez jamais fait auparavant, non?" She beamed.

Ginny simply raised a confused eyebrow at her.

"She is wondering if you 'ave ever done dat before." Gabrielle translated. Gilese shook her head at her forgetfulness.

"Oh!" Ginny grinned. "No. Never tried it, but it was a lot of fun!"

All the girls looked like they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

"To de spa!" Brigette announced as though they were leading charge into a battle.

()

Ginny groaned in appreciation as a young oriental woman worked her over. Why had she been so nervous that morning? Everything was going swimmingly. The luncheon had been pleasant, the trampoline thing had been loads of fun, and now she was getting a massage. The day was going great!

After her hour long massage she was handed a glass of white wine and directed to sit at a table facing out. They were getting their make-up professionally done before heading out for dinner and dancing.

The wine went down smooth and looking in the mirror after Michelle, her esthetician, was finished and had to admit, she looked hot. "Is it too much to request Michelle live at my flat and put me together every morning?" She commented to the room.

Gabrielle chuckled.

"I am having a fantastic time." Ginny told the rest of the girls. All six of them were looking relaxed and fabulous. One more glass of wine in the next hour though and Ginny might be falling asleep in her dinner. "Are you having a great time?" She asked Fleur.

"Oui." She glowed radiantly with wide eyes. "Tres magnifique."

"Well I don't need that one translated." She raised a cheers with her nearly empty glass and the girls all responded likewise.

Ginny sat down contentedly to enjoy the last of her drink and her mind pulled up the image of Harry Potter. She still couldn't believe she'd met him that morning. And how. She just found him so incredibly attractive. It wasn't just the whole 'war hero' thing either. He was honestly just super attractive. The fact that he was a noble hero that had the ability to be bashful as well was just making him seem all the more appealing to her.

How she hadn't recognized him right away she didn't know. His image had been broadcast all over their world since the end of Voldemort and the true story of his defeat was given by a Death Eater at his trial. No one had known who Harry Potter was before that.

If she'd had the time when it happened, she might have been able to buy him a new coffee. It had been more her fault after all. Maybe he'd have let that happen. Then they'd get to talking.

Then they'd get to snogging. 'Then shagging' she thought, trying not to let her face split into a ridiculous grin.

"What are you thinking about with that smile?" Fleur's voice cut through her daydream.

"Huh? What?" Her face was growing heated. "Nothing."

"A man?" Fleur asked slowly with a predatory smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ginny played off. "I was thinking about sandwiches." She blatantly lied.

Eventually they moved locations to a comfortable restaurant from there it was to a bar. Not some swanky thirty pound a drink bar either. Just a bar that had a dance floor at one end and a pub style atmosphere at the other.

Heads turned when they walked in, and eyes followed them to their table. This wasn't a Muggle bar, which was good because Ginny was planning on getting hammered and she tended not to remember to mind her tongue when that happened.

While dinner had been nice, the male servers were tripping over themselves to serve the other girls and by comparison Ginny wasn't feeling like she was a showstopper. But. She wasn't going to let it affect her too much. She was going to drink and dance and possibly grind up on some guy and feel amazing.

Because she looked amazing damn it!

Table service was provided right away, but it was champagne.

Ginny took a glass and raised a toast with the others out of politeness but she hated champagne. Excusing herself she went up to the bar. "Shot of Tequila and a Beck's" she hollered over to bartender.

"Ginny!" The guy beside her recognized her.

She turned to him and squinted in thought a moment. "Seamus!" She finally recognized him from her house at Hogwarts. "How's it going? Last I heard you'd gone back to Ireland and were looking to pop out a few shorties with... what was her name?"

"Nah." He waved a dismissive hand. "That's over. Back in London now looking to have some fun."

She raised an eyebrow and tried not to grimace at what he was insinuating. Her drinks came and she handed over the coin for them, downing her shot in one go before taking a sip of the beer.

"So. The group you came in with." Seamus started.

"Bridal party." She told him straight. "My eldest brother is getting hitched to the incredibly beautiful blond one."

"And all the other one's?" He was looking for their relationship status'.

Ginny shrugged. If he wanted to find out if he had a chance with any of them then he would just have to try and fail on his own.

"And you?" Seamus leaned in closer to her, so his chest was making contact with her arm.

She looked up at him in surprise. He'd never shown her any interest before. Whether that had been because she'd dated his best friend, or he was just in that place in his life where anyone would do, she wasn't sure. But she was going to shut it down.

"Back up, Seamus." She told him unimpressed.

"Hi." Another male voice said on her other side.

She saw Seamus look up at the other speaker and he immediately backed away. Ginny turned to see who was so imposing and found herself staring at those amazing green eyes again and dropped her beer. The bottle hit the floor dead on, and the beer splashed up to and impressive height and got all over her front.

"Seriously?!" She exclaimed and took some cocktail napkins off the bar. "There are funner ways to get wet you know." She complained and then caught herself and looked back up at his raised eyebrows and the smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Really? Do tell." He was grinning at her now.

She couldn't help but blush and return his grin, rolling her eyes. Grabbing her wand from her thigh holster she dried herself off.

"Can I buy you another one?" Harry asked.

Ginny bit her lip and nodded in response, banishing the bottle she'd dropped.

"Noticed you in the group you came in with." He mentioned when her replacement drink came. "You kind of stood out."

And she had just been feeling good about herself. Great. He was looking for an into her table. "Yeah, well. Someone has to be the funny one." She deflated when she looked over the table and saw it was surrounded by men now.

"What?" He leaned in to hear her better. "What does that mean?"

Ginny sighed and rested her elbow in the bar in defeat. "Alright. Which one was it? The brunette right? She's got some 'je ne sais quoi' about her." She deadpanned. "Guess an introduction is the least I could do since I did ruin your coffee and let you buy me a beer."

His brow knit together. "Who? What are you talking about?"

Ginny took in his expression and felt very self-conscious then. "I. I mean, you're over here to get me to introduce you to one of them, right?" She asked. "I mean. You said I 'stood out' so clearly-."

"I. Wait." He cut her off. "I wanted to talk to you! I didn't even look at your friends. What are you talking about?"

"Oh!" Her inner self was jumping up and down waving pom pom's. He wanted to talk to her! Her! And she'd just played herself off as a jealous cow. Oh. Bugger. "Um. Can we reset this whole conversation?" She asked blushing furiously.

"Sure." His face relaxed. "Been a long day?" He asked.

"No." She chuckled. "It's been a pretty great day actually. But I've. I'm. See, one of them is going to be my sister in law, right? And she's half Veela. Her sister too. Guess I was just. Well I was being a bitch." She admitted openly.

He snorted into his drink and had to wipe his chin. "Well, the first step is admitting you have a problem."

"Yeah." She sighed. "So, what brings you out tonight?"

"Looking for a beautiful ginger girl that I poured coffee on and inadvertently groped earlier." He joked. "Know where I might find her?"

"What do you know! I saw her in the bar mirror just a moment ago!" She turned toward the back splash for the bar. "Look! There she is again."

"Fantastic. What can you tell me about her? Need to perfect my opening line." His mirror reflection winked at her.

She bit her lip and shook her head slightly at how cheesy he was. "Well. Her name is Ginny and she loves Quidditch."

"Ginny Weasley?!" He asked abruptly.

"You've heard of me?" She asked in surprise.

"Of course! On the wireless. You are amazing!" He exclaimed, turning back to look at her beside him rather than in the mirror. "I haven't been to one of the games since you got bumped up to second string and were put in proper rotation. You're going to be first string in no time if you keep playing like you did on Tuesday."

"You've heard of me." She repeated.

"Heard of you? I'm geeking out right now." He laughed. "I can't believe I groped Ginny Weasley from the Holyhead Harpies this morning."

"Ha! And here I couldn't believe I'd gotten groped by Harry Potter this morning. Or that he was so attractive in person." She said boldly.

It was after several drinks and conversation later that Harry asked her if she wanted to dance. She had been unconsciously bopping along to the music in her seat.

"Sure. But fair warning." She prefaced. "I'm a terrible dancer." She put her hand on his upper arm.

They'd been sharing quite a few touches like this back and forth. All seemingly innocent, but not.

"As am I." He promised. "It's just an excuse to have you up against me anyways." He grinned with a wink.

She as certainly up for that!

Once on the floor he pulled her tight against him and rested his hands on her hips as they swayed to the thumping music. Her arms came around his neck and he rested his forehead against hers. Two songs in and they weren't fooling anyone, let alone themselves.

His lips were on hers and it had been so inevitable that she had responded immediately. Their hands were groping and grazing each other wantonly while the kiss deepened. He was the one in charge, taking the lead to move her towards the side of the dance floor and she found herself pressed up against the wall. She was still shifting her hips slightly to the music. She could feel him smile against her lips as he realized that.

His lips trailed down her neck then back up to her ear.

"Do you want to get out of here?" She asked him.

"Hell yes. Do you have to check in with your friends?"

"What friends?" She asked. "Oh!" She had completely forgotten about them.

Scanning the dance floor and bar she located three of the girls, but Fleur and Gabrielle she couldn't see. They might have left already, but it was still relatively early.

"Guess I'm good to duck out." She chuckled and looked up at him. The things those eyes could do to her. "I just have to, um. Loo." She'd had more drinks than she had kept track of and was sufficiently drunk right then.

"Yeah." He nodded.

He was waiting for her in the corridor when she came out of the bathroom. Resting back against the wall and looking suitably nervous and excited. And sexy as hell. Which was why she simply walked right up to him and started snogging him again. His arms wrapped around her instantly and he pulled her towards a darker part of the hallway.

Pulling away from him to catch her breath she didn't think she would make it out of the bar she wanted him so desperately. Glancing to her left there was a set of stairs. She tilted her head to the stairs and raised her eyebrows.

He took the hint and clasped her hand in his as they rushed towards and up the stairs. There were only two doors at the top of the stairs. Both were locked. He pulled out his wand and cast three consecutive spells.

That reminded Ginny there was a spell she should probably cast on herself as well.

He opened one of the doors and pulled her in, shutting and locking the door behind them before capturing her mouth again.

"Mmm, just so you know." She moaned as he rocked against her. "I haven't done this before."

His head pulled back. "Ever?" He paused.

"Not the sex part, the I just met you part." Her chest was heaving.

"Thank Merlin. Neither have I." His mouth was on her neck again.

"How is that possible. You're too fucking sexy to resist." She pulled him back so she was resting against what turned out to be a desk.

"Me?" He asked with a huff. "I nearly came in my pants when I accidentally grabbed your breasts this morning."

"I knew you did that on purpose." She grinned and rocked against his erection again.

"Mmm." He groaned. "So glad I got you wet twice today."

Her hands went down to his trousers. "Twice? I think you mean three times." With his trousers undone she guided his hand up her thigh to where she was talking about.

He pulled his head back and grinned at her before putting both his hands under her skirt and pulling her knickers down her legs. "Yeah?" He asked, looking for assurance that she wanted it.

"Oh fuck, yeah." She replied breathily and shifted herself to the edge of the desk, so he had better access.

He didn't ease himself inside her slowly. He took her in one fell swoop and she cried out at the intrusion. It was sudden and took her a moment to get used to, but he was pumping into her right away. Feeling how desperate he was for release was turning her on even more.

She was limited in her movement but tried to rock back against him as best she could.

Ginny rested her elbows back on the desk and arched her back, focusing entirely on how good it felt to have him inside her. His every thrust was met with her satisfied moan. Usually she wasn't this loud. Not that she had too many experiences to prove a pattern, but it was probably the liquor that was making her more vocal.

Looking up at him leaning over her, his hands pressed firmly on the desk on either side of her she saw how much he was enjoying this written all over his face. It was hot!

The door banged open behind him and they froze staring wide eyed at each other.

"This is an office! Not a fucking brothel." A man yelled at them. It was one of the bartenders.

Slowly, using her toes she managed to pinch a belt loop on Harry's trousers and pull them up high enough for him to grab and cover up his exposed bum. He slid himself out of her and her eyes rolled back slightly at the movement.

He took a step back and she straightened up her skirt.

"Alright, hurry it up and get out." The bartender called at them.

Harry summoned her knickers from where they'd been tossed, and she shimmied them on.

Looking up at him, unsure of how they were going to make their exit she saw he was looking unsure himself. "If I obliviate him." He started quietly.

She sagged in relief. "Oh. Please do." She didn't want this getting out. Her mum would straight up murder her.

He ducked his head and gave her a deep but short kiss then turned abruptly on his heel and pointed his wand at the man.

Unable to contain her giggle she rushed out past the slightly stunned man and started down the stairs right behind Harry. As normally as possible they weaved through the bar area with him tugging on her hand gently.

Once out on the street he pulled her to him again. "Was that a mood killer?" He asked her seriously.

"Absolutely not." She stated. "Yours or mine?"

His grin grew wide and he pulled her even tighter to him. "Mine." He nipped at her neck and they vanished from the street.


	15. Curses and Cravings

**AN- Claiming the 'Room of Requirement' Bingo Smut tile.**

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**Curses and Cravings**

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For years she'd been dealing with it. Three years of taking care of things herself ever since... it happened. It had been so confusing and frustrating for that first little while. And it was because it had happened when she was so young that she just wasn't prepared. Her mum hadn't warned her, her dad hadn't warned her.

Oh lord, she could only imagine her father trying to talk to her about such things. He'd no doubt had to talk to her brothers, but he probably thought it was a Weasley male specific problem. Her brothers probably thought it was a Weasley male specific problem too.

Well it wasn't.

And she hadn't understood exactly what was going on with her until she was fourteen.

Fourteen!

That stupid letter should have arrived when she was twelve. At twelve she could have been mentally prepared. But she had been thirteen when it started and had seven months of confusion and frustration before the letter arrived.

It had been her Aunt Muriel's owl that delivered it. It didn't appear that her aunt had opened it, thank Merlin for that. It would have been entirely embarrassing if she knew anything about the female side of the Weasley Curse.

Well, it was a curse at the time, but surely it wouldn't be forever. At some point down the line it would be very beneficial. She was hoping it would be some point very soon too.

Until then though...

Oh, those first two years she'd found herself rather embarrassed by it all. Trying to find moments of privacy to take the edge off. This past year though... well. It had been difficult not to give into her urges when she'd been with her boyfriends. I mean, they were right there. They might not have been able to take care of her completely, but she could have given them some tips and they might have gotten her there eventually.

See, the thing with Weasley's is that they were... well. They were a randy lot.

It was by chance that she'd overheard the twins talking about how their father had brought it up with them. The men with Weasley blood were apparently even more sexually charged than the others in their dorm room. Ginny's eyes had gone wide when she heard just how often teenage boys felt the urge to wank. Once or twice a day. Apparently the twins had a little competition between the two of them for most wanking sessions they could reach in a day and it amazed Ginny that they hadn't wound up in the Hospital Wing with dehydration issues. Low sodium at least.

She'd been about to turn fourteen when she'd overheard that. It was when they were all stuck at Grimmauld Place. That had been a very frustrating time for her on so many levels.

The first was because though she was expected to help out with all the Order efforts she was still not allowed to know what exactly was going on. The second because she had to be around Ron, Harry and Hermione without being included in their little group, again. The third because she had to share a room with Hermione when she couldn't cast silencing charms around herself and take care of things.

Because, no. Weasley men were not the only one affected by the curse that made them all randy as all hell.

No one had mentioned it to her personally; it was only in this letter that was written for the next Weasley female born to the family. And it was passed down to each first born of the next generation until there was a Weasley female to give it to. So it was all in Ye Olde' English as well. Though, she did have to hand it to Jemima Weasley, for a lady in her time she sure did have a way with her quill. After Ginny had deciphered exactly what it was she had been trying to tell her descendant about men and masturbatory practices she'd gotten quite the chuckle out of it.

After she'd started dating Michael Corner she'd felt a little more empowered and it didn't embarrass her to think about how she needed to take off the edge. Her dorm mates had all started doing it too. Not that she saw! No, it had just been a little obvious to her. They hadn't quite gotten the handle on the cleaning charms and when she was getting ready in the morning and they would pull back the curtains she could smell it. They'd all got the silencing charms down though.

There was no way she was going to let Michael take care of her needs though. He wasn't capable of snogging her properly. His kisses could be equated to being licked by an eager dog.

Dean, well Dean had been too gentle with her. She grew frustrated from his lack of passion. She'd felt his erections, she knew he wanted her, and one time she had even pressed herself up against his boner, and it had felt amazing, but still they didn't do more than a bit of heavy petting before she'd ditched him. And, there was always that nagging reason for not going further with them than her blood was telling her to.

And it was because of Him, the other reason being at Grimmauld Place for the summer she turned fourteen had been so frustrating; Harry had been there. She couldn't wank and her usual go to image while she was doing it was around her all the time, always smelling and looking so good. God, those eyes.

She grew entirely angry when she was all riled up and it was amazing that she hadn't blown someone's head off, or jumped Harry right there. Just yanked him into one of the loo's and demanded that he shag her. Or just finger her that would have been good too. Urgh, who was she kidding, just a single look from him would have had her combusting on the spot. If he'd looked at her then like he'd been looking at her lately she would have soaked right through her knickers.

He'd been staring at her a lot lately. She could feel his eyes on her and it was because of that that she'd been needing to slip away more than usual.

Jemima Weasley mentioned this part too. The fire that she would feel burning within herself, the urge to take a lover should that lover be the one she'd been pining for. How that fire would need to be smothered by her own hand lest she be ruined before her wedding night.

Well fuck that.

She'd been single for over a month now and Harry had been staring at her every time she was in his eye line. She could feel his eyes on her. Not just her face either, on her breasts and her bum, on her hair. She'd caught him staring at her hands when they were getting ready for Quidditch practice. She may have been doing some slight up and down stroking movements with her broom handle at the time, but that boy had been mesmerized.

If something didn't happen between them soon she was going to implode, and she couldn't trust him to work up the courage to do anything. Fighting against Death Eaters and Dark Lords, yes, no problem, just tell him when and where and he was ready to go. Telling her he wanted her, nope sorry, much too occupied looking for a rock large enough to hide under.

Well, time's up Potter.

She couldn't take it anymore. She was going to corner him and get him to admit he wanted her, and then they were going to bloody well do something about it.

She knew where he was most likely to be. He wasn't with Ron and Hermione who were in the Quidditch stands doing some revising and pretending they didn't want to jump each other, so he was probably on the seventh floor mildly stalking Malfoy again. It was after classes now and she'd just gone for a fly to attempt to work off some extra energy, which hadn't worked. Now she was just sweaty and horny.

Locking her broom up in the change room for tomorrow's game she made her way up towards the room of requirement. Once she reached the hallway she took a good look around. There didn't seem to be anybody there, didn't mean she was alone though. She hadn't seen Harry's invisibility cloak, but knew it existed.

As she approached the portrait of Barnebus the Barmy she shrugged off her cloak and made a show of rolling her neck to work out the kinks, moaning slightly at how nice it felt. As she started pacing back and forth she pulled her shirt out from where it was tucked in her trousers and pulled the hair tie out of her hair so it would tumble down her back.

For a while she'd been playing with the idea of cutting it short, but from how often she'd caught Harry admiring its length she was glad she hadn't given in to that urge.

The door appeared for her and she went to it, grasping the knob she opened it slightly and cast a look over her shoulder. There had been no sound save for the distant noise of feet moving several corridors away. "I'll leave this open a crack for thirty seconds before I close it, Harry." she said to the empty corridor before going inside.

The room had changed into a comfortable sitting room with a large change room style shower off to one side. There were three large couches along two different walls and a study table beside a bookshelf. The rug beneath her feet was plush and she kicked off her shoes and socks immediately. It felt so nice to let her bare feet breathe. She'd tossed her cloak over the back of a chair before the door closed behind her. Leaning back against the table she braced her hands on the sides while she crossed her legs and raised an eyebrow at the air in front of the closed door, waiting for him to appear.

And he did, looking sheepish and giving her a shy smile. "Am I that predictable?" he asked.

"You're that obsessed." she smirked.

He twisted his lips slightly and took a look around the room. "A shower?" he stared at it a moment, then looked back at her with a bit of red creeping up his neck.

"Must have been an underlying thought. I did just come off the Quidditch Pitch." she fibbed. "Rather hot at the moment." Rather burning with the intensity of wanting him on top of her, or her on top him she wasn't picky.

"Right." he shuffled his feet awkwardly, his eyes falling to her button up shirt, one she'd used a slight shrinking charm on. Her breasts were growing in rather nicely.

"That's the cloak, is it?" she gestured to the silvery material in his hand and went towards him reaching out to run the silky fabric between her fingers. "Hmm. Feels lovely."

"Yeah." he said quietly. "Lovely."

Raising her eyes to him she took in the subtle signs of exhaustion and wear that had been becoming more pronounced over the year. She knew he was doing lessons with Dumbledore and was more worried than ever about Tom Riddle and how he'd been turning their world to shit. "You're looking worn out Harry." she worried. "Have you not been sleeping?" she wanted to run her fingers down the side of his face, trace her thumb under his eyes gently.

"I'm fine." It was his go to response. He'd been through some awful times, there were so many terrible situations he could be in that would be 'fine' by comparison. She wanted to make him feel brilliant; forget about all his problems for a few hours.

"Of course you are." he was staring at her lips now. Slowly she gave them a little lick before biting her lower one. She could swear his eyebrows went up in intrigue slightly and his iris's darken minutely behind his glasses. "I haven't been fine though."

His eyes shot up to hers. "What? Why?" the concern in his voice was heart-warming. "Is someone giving you a hard time? Or is it just OWL stress?"

She gave a small shoulder shrug. "I guess you could call it boy trouble."

The lines in his forehead deepened as he frowned. "Is someone bothering you? I can give them a talking to." he offered, sounding defensive of her.

She smiled at the offer. "It is bothering me a bit. But only because he always seems to be staring at me. Pretty sure he'd like to do something more than stare, but he doesn't seem capable." she could feel the heat coming off of his body with how closely they were standing. No doubt he could feel it too.

"Did- do you want him to do something? I mean. You just broke up with Dean." he seemed torn between wanting to stay where he was and wanting to take a step back and gain some distance between them.

She didn't know if he was being clueless or disbelieving. She took the cloak out of his hands and put it over the chair behind her. "I was really just passing time with Dean. He's a nice enough bloke, but there wasn't exactly anything to 'get over'." she kept her eyes on his. He had to know now, had to realize.

"So, what are you going to do about this other guy then?" his Adam's Apple bobbed once and she swore she saw a tremor run through his arms before he placed his palm against his jeans.

"Figured I'd start with getting him alone in the Room of Requirement and see what happened." his eyes darted around the room and he nodded. "Harry." he looked back at her. "You've been staring at me a lot lately."

He looked to shrink in on himself in embarrassment, the red on his neck creeping up to his cheeks. "Sorry."

Awe, he's adorable. He looked like a puppy that had just been scolded. And he still wasn't catching on. "Don't be." she said easily. His eyes shot up to hers again in surprise. "I kind of like it."

His face lit up slowly, he wasn't allowing a smile to come to his lips though. "Really?"

She grinned at him. "Really." she purred. His jaw slackened at her tone. Stepping forward she took his hands in hers, noting that his palms were a little sweaty. "Now, are you going to do something about it?" She was wanton and she was nearly out of patience.

He let out a huff of air. "Like. Like what?"

Ginny couldn't help her grin turning slightly predatory at his innocence. Stepping forward so their chests were pressed together she wrapped his arms around her herself and went up on her toes to nuzzle her face against his cheek until her mouth was by his ear. "What do you want to do about it?" She pressed herself more firmly against him, her hip was against his pelvis and she felt him stirring there. She desperately wanted to know just how big he got.

His hands bunched at the bottom of her top in his fight for some self-control. She didn't want him to exercise any control though, so she rocked her hip against him slightly and his whole body swayed forward against her letting out a soft moan. "Ginny." He whispered.

She rubbed her nose against his cheek, moving so their lips grew closer and closer together. "Yes Harry?"

"I- I can't." he swallowed.

She leaned back from him in surprise. "You can't?" she asked astounded. "I basically throw myself at you, and you say you can't?"

He pulled his hands back to his sides, but she didn't let her grip on him go. "I just." he started. "I'm sorry for staring at you. I didn't realize I was doing it."

That was a blatant lie. She knew it was. He was just doing his noble thing and trying to 'protect her'. Well fuck that. "And this?" She removed one of her hands from his hip and placed it between them, cupping his erection firmly. He gasped and instinctively thrust into her hand, his eyes fluttering closed at the sensation. "Did you realize this was happening?" She rubbed him there enjoying the sound of his soft moan.

She found herself squirming; wanting to press herself against what her hand was cupping, grind herself against it. But he was barely managing to keep himself from pulling away now, she didn't want to scare him off, no matter how much the fire burning inside her was telling her to do it.

"Ginny." his head came up abruptly and he took a step back from her, struggling to regulate his breathing. "We. We can't do this."

"Because you don't want to?" she challenged.

He seemed at a loss for words. His eyes were wide and his jeans were straining. He wanted her alright, but fine, she wasn't going to push. She was going to play.

"Alright Harry." she took her own step back. "I'll leave you alone." her hand came to the top button on her shirt. "I won't stop you from leaving right now. Guess I'll just have to focus my energy on something else." her hand moved down to the second then third button. "Sorry I read everything wrong."

"Wha-what are you doing." he was mesmerized as her shirt gave way to reveal more of her skin.

"Figured I may as well take a shower now. I mean," she finished the final button and pulled her shirt down her arms so she only had her bra on. "You 'can't'. I get it. You won't mind if I just carry on with my evening." she was cross, of course, but she wasn't just going to throw in the towel.

Turning around she placed her shirt on the table and popped the button on her trousers, pulling down the zip slowly and shimmying the trousers down over her hips slowly and letting them fall to the floor and stepping out of them. Trying not to be too overly seductive about it she bent down to pick them up and placed them on the table as well. Turning around she simply stood before him in just her bra and knickers for a moment.

He looked to be having difficulty breathing. He was simply staring at her body with a slack jaw. She felt victory though with where his hand was. He was unconsciously stroking himself as he stared at her, the sight of that made her hand twitch. She'd love to be touching herself right then. Have him drop his jeans and boxers and keep on stroking himself while she did the same to herself as they both watched each other.

As it was she simply cocked her head at him and licked her lips again. "Did you ever think about this while you were staring at me?"

His eyes were glazed over and his hand kept making small slow and steady movements. "Think of what?" He breathed.

He didn't realize what he was doing at all, she mused feeling more empowered than ever. "Me standing in front of you nearly naked while you took yourself in hand." she asked demurely.

His hand stopped.

"Oh. Don't stop on my account. I was just wondering if I should start."

"St-start?" he stammered.

"Mhmm. Just because you say you 'can't' doesn't mean I can't." she let her hands graze down her sides and start stroking the front of her thighs, working their way slowly inwards to her center. She hummed as the base of her thumb rubbed against her sex.

Harry was slowly stepping towards her in a daze. "I'm dreaming." he muttered to himself.

"Yes." she told him and rubbed the fingers of one hand over her clit as the other teased her entrance through her knickers. "What do you normally do when you dream about me?"

His eyes on her were getting her going faster than she thought they ever would. And he was caving in to his wants and needs. His determination was fading with every stroke of her fingers. She wanted them to be his fingers though. He was right in front of her. She could have reached out and taken him in hand easily. His eyes were transfixed on what her fingers were doing though. It was almost too much for her.

He dropped down to his knees in front of her, still not touching her at all. She could feel his hot breath panting out against her thighs. Her fingers circled around her clit faster and her bum pressed back against the table, trying not to let herself fall back on it.

The familiar feeling of her finish was coming over her; the fire raging in her belly was growing. She couldn't keep her eyes open any more as her insides clenched and she cried out. Her fingers slowed their movements until they stopped all together. She was still feeling the need for another go, but Harry was also still kneeling in front of her. His hand was on himself again she realized. He'd popped the button on his jeans and had himself properly in hand now, stroking himself furiously.

She'd never seen a boy wank before. It looked like it should have hurt with how fast he was moving his hand up and down. It was her turn to be mesmerized.

"So. Wet." he panted out.

"You make me wet." she told him boldly.

Harry groaned in response and his head came forward. Ginny removed her fingers quickly as his mouth connected with her sex and she let out a loud moan of her own. He was essentially snogging her clit through her knickers. His lips and tongue were working frantically and she couldn't help bucking against him. It felt so fucking good.

He let out an almighty groan as his tongue delved into her entrance as far as the cotton material allowed. He must have been moving it in time with his final strokes. She couldn't help but whimper though. If he wasn't going to finish her off because he'd reached his own climax-. But both his hands came to her hips and he lifted her up so her bum sat on the table, then pushed her back down to lay flat before hooking his fingers under her knickers and ripping them off her and burying his face in her once more.

"Yes!" she cried out loudly and ground herself against his mouth. She didn't know how it was he knew how to do this and didn't rightly care at the moment. Maybe Cho Chang taught him, maybe he'd read a manual, either way he was doing a fucking marvelous job. Her clit was already sensitive; his tongue stroking firm circles against it was absolutely perfect. He pushed a finger into her and moaned as she bucked at the feeling. Her hips were twirling as the sensation in her belly came again.

The fire crashed over her and she cried out his name and fisted her hands in his hair, trying to encourage his movements to continue.

Harry stood then and pulled his shirt over his head. Ginny's eyes snapped open and she took in his form. He was skinny, sure, but there was a subtle sign of muscles developing there. His shoulders were nice and broad. Her eyes closed again as he began kissing his way up her body, starting where her hips and pelvis met and trailing up to her hip, across her stomach and stopping at her bra.

"Off." he demanded simply.

That single word had her lust returning full force. Give the boy a little and suddenly he's found his confidence. If she was going to give him everything, she wasn't going to do it on a table. Wishing it were a softer surface she found herself falling an inch or so and sinking onto something softer.

Harry pulled back from her and they both took a look at the table that had now turned into a bed.

"God I love this room." Harry murmured and pawed at her bra. His eyes were darker than she'd ever seen them before. Sneaking a peak down further she saw he had returned to full mast. She scooted back on the bed and reached behind her to undo the clasp of her bra and pulled it down her arms, tossing it to the floor.

She felt his erection bob against her leg as moved himself over her and nuzzled into her breasts. All of these sensations she was feeling from his weight on her to his mouth that was now kissing every part of her soft mounds her could manage and his hand coming under her to grip her bum, it was making her dizzy with desire. He worked his way up to her neck and she hooked her feet on the inside of his calves as their pelvises met.

Harry kissed up her jaw before raising himself over her.

They stared at each other. They were really doing this. She could feel his length at her entrance. He was making these tiny thrusting movements and trailing his length along her slit. His eyes were still half understanding of what he was doing and half desperate to continue.

Ginny was just desperate for him to be inside her. She was desperate to feel him stretching her out and making her feel fuller that she'd ever been in her life.

"I'm not dreaming, am I." his eyes searched her.

She rocked against his erection and closed her eyes for a second as she gave a purr. "I'll tell you after."

He moved his hand to grip himself between them and guided his bulbous head to her entrance. He held it there and she savored the pressure she was feeling from it. It was going to feel delicious to have that monster inside her. She bit her lip and twirled her hips, enjoying the moan that he gave her.

He nuzzled his nose on her cheek then trailed his soft lips along her skin until they were pressed against her own. She responded to his kiss greedily. She'd been dreaming about her first kiss with him for ages. Never would she have imagined her lips would be the last place that he'd wind up kissing her. His mouth was marvelous. His tongue darted out and caressed her own as he started pushing himself inside her.

She gripped his hips as he began making small thrusting movements going minutely deeper inside her with each thrust. She as feeling so full already and he hadn't even bottomed out yet. The sensation was amazing. It was making her lose control of herself, her head fell back and her back arched at the invasion. He was long and thick and she was glad she'd cum twice before they attempted this, otherwise she might not have been wet enough, or relaxed enough, to take him.

At the rate he was going she was going to cum again before he was all the way in. It had to be having his weight on top of her that was adding to it. She felt herself reaching her climax again already.

Sure enough she cried out and her insides clamped down around him like a vice. She barely registered his shuddering breath on her cheek as her walls fluttered around him.

She relaxed back against the bed. He'd paused his movements. His wank must have given him some kind of super human control that she didn't have. This had to have felt as amazing to him as it did to her. Opening her eyes she saw he was simply staring at her, no longer thrusting.

"Did you?" she started to ask in confusion. Why wasn't he trying to reach his own finish? He was still rock hard inside her. Had she done something wrong?

"You weren't a virgin?" he asked. There was a touch of hurt in his voice.

Oh. She felt the heat rise to her face. He thought that because she wasn't in pain that it wasn't her first time. He wanted to be her first. She couldn't help grinning. "I was." she promised him. "I just," she bit her lip. "I didn't have a hymen, and um. You'd rather gotten me ready for you."

"You were?" he didn't seem sure if he believed it.

Ginny moved herself in small up and down movements as she stared in his eyes. "Us Weasley's are a randy lot, Harry. The number of times I've had to take care of things myself. I swear, you're the only one who's so much as seen me in my bra." She watched as her movements were causing his eyes to roll back in his head.

He braced himself on his elbow beside her head and gripped her hip with his other hand. "Just me." he grunted and started thrusting again in bigger movements this time.

"Oh, fuck yes!" Ginny cried out. "Yes. Just you. I've been waiting for you." The feeling of his erection sliding in and out of her properly was fantastic. Finally she felt him being fully sheathed inside her and his rhythm was picking up. He seemed to be very happy with the fact that she had been saving herself for him alone.

His breath was coming out ragged as he lost control and began taking her faster. His head was buried in her neck and her hands came up under his arms to grip his shoulders as she matched his movements. When was fully inside her he hit this spot that made her moan out every time.

His thrusts turned to jabs as she was about to let go a fourth time. "Yes! Fuck Harry, Yes!" She nearly screamed as his movements turned rough.

He let out a loud groan as he spilled himself inside her. His movements slowed, but she was so close.

She rolled them over and sat up, grinding her hips to twirl his waning erection around inside her as she rubbed her clit furiously in search of her release. "YES!" The fire in her belly collected in her center and shot through her entire body in the best release she'd ever had.

She collapsed sideways on the bed panting and wishing that sensation could have lasted so much longer. If it did though, she'd probably have a heart attack. Her blood was pumping furiously through her veins and it was impossible to bring her breathing back to normal for near a full minute.

"Holy fuck." Harry panted and gave a loud gulp of air. "Holy fuck." he repeated.

If she could have managed to find her voice then she would have returned the sentiment. Instead she untangled her legs from his and crawled over to tuck herself against his side, resting her head on his arms.

"Best dream ever." he sighed.

Ginny smiled against his side and gave him a kiss to his ribs. "Do you really dream of me often?"

"Yeah." he answered instantly. She felt him stiffen slightly then. "But. This wasn't-"

"No." she shook her head. "This wasn't a dream. I got tired of waiting for you to make a move." she murmured and snuggled closer to his side. Four orgasms seemed to have satiated her craving for now.

He ran a hand through her hair. It felt wonderfully soothing as he repeated the movement. "So, you wanted to be with me too? But. I thought. I mean. Hermione said."

Ginny groaned in frustration. Of course Hermione had something to do with his reluctance. That girl thought she knew everything, but she was an idiot when it came to relationships. "If Hermione really knew anything about this kind of thing, don't you think she would have jumped Ron by now?"

Harry rolled onto his side to face her; she had to move back slightly to accommodate him. "We just had sex." he stated with eyes wide in wonderment.

"Yes." she chuckled. "And now we're laying here in the afterglow without a stitch of clothing on us."

His eyes trailed down her body. "You're naked. And we just had sex. In the room of requirement."

"It's about time it was put to good use." It was entirely amusing to her how amazed he was about this. She had had the advantage of knowing she was going to try and seduce him. If he'd suddenly cornered her and been the one to put the moves on her then she might be the one in shock. "You, er. You don't regret it already, do you?"

"What?!" his eyes locked on hers again. "Regret it? No." he shifted himself closer to her so they were pressed against each other again. "Not at all. I'm just... amazed. You are literally my wet dream." he colored at his admission.

"And," she took a deep breath. "Was it your first time too?" she didn't know all that he'd gotten up to with Chang, they hadn't been going out long but then again he and she weren't going out at all.

He looked confused. "When have you ever seen me with anyone?" he seemed close to laughing at the idea. As though the prospect of him having had relations in the past was ludicrous.

"Uh... Cho?" she reminded him.

"Oh! Oh, right. I'd forgot."

Ginny could help her giggle of delight at that. It subsided immediately when Harry tentatively put his hand on her waist. "I really only kissed her once, and it wasn't very good." he stared at his hand as it moved slowly up to her chest.

Her body was starting to hum again under his hand. "And kissing me?" she asked.

"Amazing." He ducked his head down and captured her lips, rolling them over so he could deepen the kiss. "I can't believe-" he pulled back and studied her face in awe.

"That's much better than simply saying 'I can't'," she teased.

"Yeah," he chuckled, "you shot that to shit didn't you?"

"What do you mean?" she feigned innocence. "You could have left. I would have just had to take care of myself in the shower."

"You stripped down right in front of- you take care of yourself in the shower?" he cut himself off from his own argument.

She grinned and nodded. "The shower," she kissed his jaw, "my dorm bed. Pretty much anywhere I can find the privacy for it." She felt him growing against her leg again. The stamina of a sixteen-year-old boy was fantastic. "Don't tell me you haven't ever had to sneak off to take," she rocked her hips against him. "care of things."

"Yeah, but." he moaned slightly and thrust himself against her hip. "I didn't think girls were, well, as randy as guys."

"Weasley family curse. Literally. I probably want it more than you."

"Wait." he pulled back from her. "That's real? Ron told me, but I thought he was just messing around and coming up with excuses. He's constantly- oh. Really?" he seemed intrigued now. "So you are constantly-"

"Randy." she purred. "You've no idea." she pulled his head down to kiss him again. He pressed himself down on top of her again and settled between her legs. "You interested in helping me out with that?"

He kissed her deeply in response and grasped himself and pushed inside her again, both of them letting out satisfied groans. "As many times as you want me to."

"Oh, I want to feel like this all the time." She grabbed his arse and urged him to give it to her faster. "I quite liked you using your mouth on me as well."

He moaned in her ear. "You tasted better than I'd imagined."

"Your tongue is incredible." her knees locked harder around his legs encouraging his sharp thrusts.

"What about this?" He gave her a long slow thrust. "Is this incredible too?"

Oh yeah, he was certainly feeling comfortable and confident around her now, she thought with great pleasure. "No, it's fucking fantastic. I've been dreaming about you inside me for ages."

"You think about me when you touch yourself?" he panted.

This was turning him on, Ginny thought with glee. "I **only** think about you when I touch myself, wishing it was you touching me instead. Thinking about me touching you." his thrusts grew frantic. "Thinking about what it would be like to take you in my mouth."

"I thought about all the different positions I'd want to take you in." Harry grunted out. "One time we were in the library and you'd reached up to get a book off a high shelf and I'd just come up behind you and you were all eager for it."

"I would be all eager for it." she panted. She was reaching her finish again. She cried out again, quickly followed by him.

He collapsed on top of her. "So. Are we. I mean." Harry found his voice after coming down from his high a few minutes later and rolling off her to pull her to his side again. "We're together now?"

Ginny had been dozing and feeling marvelous, but that had a weight settling in her stomach. She knew he had a lot of his plate; maybe he didn't have time for a girlfriend. "We. We don't have to be if you don't," she started unsure of herself. Just because they'd both given in to their urges didn't mean he had to feel obligated to her. She could live with the idea of simply being who he came to to 'relax'.

"I want to be with you." he told her honestly. "And I'd be pretty devastated if you found yourself another boyfriend."

Warmth radiated though her and she cuddled harder against him. The feel of his naked body against hers was a dream all in itself. "But you're worried."

His hand went to her hair again and he began running his fingers through it repetitively. "It's just; you're already a target as it is, being a Weasley, and I. I just don't want to make anything worse for you."

"So, are you wanting to keep 'us' a secret, or push me away after today?" She needed to know. She didn't want either of those options, but she'd take being his secret if it meant she could be with him like this from time to time.

"Would you think me a prat if I say secret?" she could hear the worry in his voice.

"No," she smiled in relief "I'll be your secret." She felt him let out a breath he'd been holding. "Now then." she sat up. "Before we both wind up falling asleep I really do need a shower now." her thighs were deliciously sore, but also rather coated from their activities.

Climbing off the bed she heard him scramble off it behind her as they headed to the other side of the room towards the showers.

**AN- Quick and OoC, but still smut, so it counts.**


	16. Crossing off the List

**AN- This is a possible missing moment from OoTP.**

**Claiming a tile from the Bingo Smut for the Ginny Lover's Discord Server.**

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**Crossing off the List**

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He would never have noticed it if he hadn't found her notebook. He tried to hide his amused smile as she sat down at the Gryffindor table, five people down on the opposite side of him. She was with her friends, and no one made a comment about it.

He knew what she'd done though, and it was subtle, but clever. There weren't any teachers or Prefect's paying close enough attention to her to have noticed. He doubted that even the High Inquisitor herself would have caught the change.

Two days ago, Harry had found the list in the common room.

He'd been woken from another dream about that corridor at the Ministry. Still no explanation for why he was having the same dream over and over again. On the one hand, at least he hadn't seen anyone he knew being attacked by a snake this time, but on the other hand that had been traumatic enough an experience that he would have flashbacks to it simply by seeing the corridor in his dream and wake in a cold sweat.

Rather than laying in bed and staring at the ceiling he'd head down to the Common Room and sat in one of the armchairs by the fire. The notebook was tucked in between the cushion. He'd felt it poking uncomfortably into his leg when he sat down and pulled it out.

It contained a full list of the Educational Decree's that had come into effect since Umbitch had started taking over. He stared at it in confusion as he began to read. His confusion turning to humor and astonishment as he flipped through the pages of the list.

He'd thought at the time that whomever had created the list was completely brilliant!

It started with Educational Decree Number One- Any student found in possession of a spell check quill will be punished, and went all the way to Educational Decree Number One-Hundred and Thirty-Six- Students are encouraged to come forward regarding suspicious our outlawed activities.

Every few Educational Decree's had notes following it with just how the owner of the book had broken the Decree's and gotten away with it, it even had stars besides the one's that they'd attempted and gotten caught, receiving a detention for.

He couldn't believe what he was reading when he got to Educational Decree Number Forty-Nine- All Quidditch Matches Cancelled. Underneath that was the schedule of an underground Quidditch League! It showed some sort of code with dates, times and scores of two games that had been played. His jaw dropped as he understood what it was he was looking at for that one. They must have been playing at night, but why wouldn't he have been invited? And who was on the teams? It looked like the owner hadn't received any detentions for that one.

He moved on from that one and noted some of them had work arounds written out beneath them. Decree Twenty-Six was linked to Decree Thirty-One which was linked to Decree Thirty-Seven- Boys to keep their hands outside of their cloaks; under which was written _Doesn't say anything about boys putting their hands inside girls' cloaks ;) April 24th, MC Charms corridor. Seen by Flitwick, not reported. Would have preferred a different partner for that. MC doesn't know what to do with his hands._

Harry chuckled at that. Clearly this was all done up by a girl. One with bigger balls than most of the guys in the school. He read through the entirety of the list, making note of the one's that hadn't been broken and thoroughly enjoying the description for the one's that had.

By the time the sun was coming up he had forgotten what it was that had brought him down to the Common Room in the first place and was thinking of different ways that he could have fun breaking a few of the rules that this girl hadn't gotten to yet.

Decree Number Twenty-Four- Playing of music during study hours is banned, could be an interesting one to pull off. They might need to dose Madame Pinch's tea and start the music off really quiet, getting progressively louder. It could work; some Dreamless Sleep Potion and a wireless.

Having his Invisibility Cloak would make it all the more easy to accomplish, but it would seem like cheating. Whoever had made the list had already accomplished so much without one.

Students started coming down the stairs to head to breakfast in a sleepy daze and Harry tucked the notebook back down the side of the chair and tried not to seem too creepy as he observed the girls in particular. There were still so many of his house mates that he didn't know the name of. The DA had been an introduction to a lot of his school mates, but he should really make more of an effort to know whom was who. As it was, he didn't know if he would have known enough people to create an underground Quidditch Match.

That was a clue though. He was looking for a girl, someone popular and that played Quidditch. A troublemaker as well. Decree Number Twenty-Nine had been accomplished though- High Inquisitor has the power to review all extra-curricular activities, underneath which was written _DA_ with a star beside it for the detention that they had all served when they were discovered.

So, she was in the DA.

Katie Bell came down the stairs with Alicia Spinnet. Harry returned the sleepy wave that they gave him with a small smile and a nod. They seemed rather too reserved to be breaking all these rules like this. He also hadn't heard anything about them dating someone with the initials MC.

He was still watching them walk through the portrait hole when his view was obstructed.

"Hey, Harry," Ginny said slowly. "Um, I was sitting there last night, and I think I might have-. What?"

Harry was staring at her with a slack jaw. She did fit all of the categories. How is it he hadn't noticed before how mischievous she was? She was the twins sister after all, he just hadn't given her much of a thought. She'd just sort of always been there, in the background.

Her eyes darted around the Common Room nervously as he continued to stare at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked quietly, her weary eyes back on him.

"MC, Michael Corner," he said dumbly.

Her mouth hung open for a moment and she sucked in a breath as her cheeks colored. "You read it? Where is it?" she growled to herself in frustration, "I knew I should have charmed it only to open for me."

She lowered herself down to somewhat hide herself from those still coming down from the dormitories. "Look, could you not tell anyone? Specifically, my brothers? I don't need them knowing I'm getting up to trouble with a diary of sorts again. Particularly with how I'm intentionally putting myself in trouble this time," she whispered.

"I won't tell," he promised immediately.

He was seeing her in a whole new light now. Maybe subconsciously he'd only ever considered her a tag along, but that wasn't her at all. She was a devious little misfit.

A not unattractive misfit, he found himself realizing for the first time. When did Ginny Weasley grow into this burgeoning woman before him? He'd only ever seen her as the little eleven-year-old that had squeaked every time she saw him.

She had an innocent look on her face, but there was something threatening him with her eyes.

"Look, Harry," she started, clearly not believing him. "I know you and Ron are best friends, but I'm serious. There is only so little fun one can have this year, and I neither need him knowing about this, nor getting involved, okay? I'm not above-"

"Let me help," he blurted out.

"What?! No. I just told you I don't need my brother-"

"I didn't say anything about involving Ron," he defended.

"Oh, please. Wherever you go, he goes," she rolled her eyes.

"Come on. Let me help you. No Ron. No Hermione. I swear I won't tell them, so long as you let me help you cross a few more of these off," he pulled out the notebook and didn't let go when she tried to snatch it from him.

"You're blackmailing me into letting you help? There's no way that the two of them wouldn't get suspicious with you disappearing for hours at a time," she scoffed.

"Fine. One night then. You let me help you for one night. Friday, when they're on Prefect Duties. We'll try and get through as many as we can with out getting caught," he bargained.

She gave him a hard stare, gauging just how serious he was about keeping his word and joining her. It gave him the opportunity to see just how nice her eyes were. They were a deep brown color, and her lashes were rather long, and not light, like Ron's, they were dark. She had this dusting of freckles over the bridge of her nose that were very appealing as well.

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Friday evening then," she agreed tersely. "If you've read through this carefully enough, you'll know which one's I still have to accomplish. Come up with your own ideas for it and slip them to me over the next two days." She lowered her voice again, "And if I find out that you've breathed even a single word of this to Ron then I'll use you to accomplish Decree Number Fifty-Six, and I won't be nice about it," she threatened.

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. Ginny Weasley was threatening him. And she looked good doing it.

He grinned at her in answer. She nodded once, snatched her notebook out of his hand and stalked towards the portrait hole. He could only imagine how creative she'd be about having him caught with Filibuster Fireworks going off.

Now it was Friday.

To everyone else it probably had looked like he was ignoring her as much as he had three days ago. Neither Ron nor Hermione seemed to have noticed all the notes he'd passed to her at meals and during their time in the Common Room.

She was currently breaking two of the Decree's as it was; Ninety-Nine- Students shall not use Magic to change their physical appearance, and Forty-Five- Students shall adhere to proper dress and decorum.

Ginny's hair was not her natural color this morning, it wasn't a shocking change in color just not as red, and her uniform had been altered. The inside of her vest had a multicolored lining and her tie was not Gryffindor, it was Hufflepuff. He caught a few of her friends exchanging a raised eyebrow at her and she simply made a face at them and they said nothing.

That was something else he'd noticed about her over the past two days; Ginny was quite popular. She had friends from all houses, even Slytherin. No doubt she'd simply asked one of her Hufflepuff friends to lend her the tie. Clearly, she had enough friends to create her underground Quidditch league.

He was so looking forward to breaking some of these rules with her today.

Ron and Hermione had a Prefect's meeting they had to attend right after dinner, then their rounds after that. Harry was going to meet Ginny in the library right after leaving the Great Hall. She'd liked his idea for breaking Decree Twenty-Four, and he had gotten Dobby involved to spike Madam Pince's evening tea.

After saying a quick goodbye to his friends, he tugged on the strap of his bag, feeling assured at the weight it was carrying that it held all the supplies they would need, and rushed to the library.

Ginny was sitting in the far corner doing her Transfiguration assignment when Harry sat down. He looked over her parchment. "That is actually your homework?"

She looked up at him with a smirk on her face, "Think I needed to be writing out the lyrics to a Weird Sisters song instead? I don't need to waste my time anymore than I already do."

"You consider this a waste of time?" he asked incredulously.

Her smirk turned into a real smile then, "No."

He grinned back at her, "Alright, so. Rules."

"Rules," she nodded. "Doesn't count if we get caught. No use of your invisibility cloak, that's cheating."

"Doesn't count if we get someone else to do it for us," he continued.

"That pretty much sums it up," she held her hand out for him, "Partners in crime, for one night only."

He frowned over the one-night restriction but took her hand. She pulled it over to her so he had to lean forward over the table.

"And you _never_ tell."

"Right," he agreed, "this is just between us."

At six-thirty on the nose Madame Pince was snoring softly with her face resting on the hard cover of a book, an invisible wireless was on the third shelf of a bookshelf in the middle of the library, slowly becoming louder and louder as those studying there were looking around in confusion.

"After one full song we can go," Ginny whispered to him.

"Are we shutting it off?" he asked.

She chuckled, "No. That'll be someone else's problem. For us it's mission accomplished, and we are on to the next."

He grinned at her. Next was Decree Seventy- Niffler's are banned from Hogwarts Castle. Lee Jordan had levitated several Niffler's into her office half-way through the year and been thoroughly punished once he'd been caught. He was currently occupied in detention however and could not be blamed for this one.

They made their way to the Charms Classroom and Harry retrieved the cage in his bag with the little Niffler in it. Ginny giggled and gave the little furry creature a scratch under his chin before wishing him luck and the two of them concentrated on getting the creature through the air and into the Headmistresses office.

"Two down," Ginny grinned at him as she closed the window to the Charms classroom. "We only have a few minutes before the newly imposed curfew."

Harry held his hand out for her as she climbed down from the ledge of the window. "To the owlery my lady?"

"To the owlery," she agreed with another giggle.

Educational Decree Number Eighty-One- Red Howlers are forbidden, and they had a whole pile of them for the members of the Inquisitorial Squad to receive over breakfast the next morning.

As they tied the red letters to the school owls, the lovely birds looked as though they were proud to carry them. The bonus of the school owls being the one's to deliver the letters was that they weren't checked as incoming mail. It was internal, and the Umbitch didn't look through those.

Yet.

"Come on," Ginny grabbed his hand after he'd tied the last letter to a barn owl's foot.

"I believe this constitutes breaking Decree Twenty-Six and Thirty-One," he joked as they went down the steps.

"Already broke those one's, but I don't mind being the one to pop those cherries for you," she joked.

He was riding high on the excitement of the evening and found himself responding immediately and in-kind. "You want to be the one to pop my cherry?" he teased.

Ginny turned back to look at him while they were continuing down their way. "We hadn't planned on breaking Decree Thirty-Two."

She said this to him in a saucy tone that he was surprised to hear from her lips. It was enticing. Decree Thirty-Two forbade students from spending any time in the Broom Cupboards. He wasn't sure if her guard was down like this around everyone but he and her brothers, but he wouldn't mind spending time with this Ginny in a broom cupboard.

"Well," he pointed out, "it doesn't say _what_ the students would have to be getting up to in the broom cupboards."

She smirked at him, "true. Let's find one, we can play Exploding Snap."

Before he could say any more, she was pulling him by the hand down the corridors at a run and pulled him into a cupboard on the third floor, just off where the adorable three-headed Fluffy had once resided.

"Why were we running?" he asked once he'd caught his breath.

"Educational Decree Number Thirteen- No running in the corridors."

"Oh," he remembered, "right then. Worth it." He gulped in air.

"You are woefully out of shape there, Potter," she laughed.

He scoffed and managed to start breathing properly again. "Maybe I wouldn't be if I still had some Quidditch I was playing."

"Jealous?"

"Incredibly."

He saw her whole face light up in delight at that. "Curious as to how we're pulling it off?"

"Incredibly," he repeated, this time with more intrigue than anything else.

"My teams have been assembling at three a.m. No snitch though, so it isn't real Quidditch. First team to a hundred wins."

"Your teams?"

"Well, I did start the league," she preened. Rightfully so.

"Amazing," he said in awe. "This whole thing. It's just… amazing."

It was a rather spacious cupboard that she'd dragged them into. He was finding himself disappointed with that. If it was smaller then he would have had a reason to stand closer to her, maybe to have needed to put his hands on her hips. An 'accidental' turn of their heads at the right moment might have caused their lips to meet.

He cleared his throat, "So, why this broom cupboard?"

"It's the first and last one they check," she answered easily.

"What?"

"The Prefect's," she shrugged. "They meet just down the hall and then start off their rounds by checking this broom cupboard, then they loop back and check it again after they've done all the other floors."

"How do you know this?"

She let out a laugh, "I have my ways," she told him cryptically.

"Uh, so… Exploding Snap?" he asked.

Ginny let out a snort. "Yeah, I don't actually have a deck on me. I was joking."

"Oh," he wanted to slap his forehead then. "So, how long do you figure until we've pulled this on off?"

"Well, they say it's called 'Seven Minute's in Heaven', so I'd figure seven minutes, unless you can think of something else we can cross off while we're in here," she challenged.

Decree Twenty-Two immediately popped into his mind; banning of Romantic Relations. Then the more detailed Decree Twenty-Eight- No Coitus of any kind.

Ginny cocked her head at him slightly. "What's going through your head there, Harry?"

His mouth was dry and his tongue didn't feel the right size though. He didn't seem to be able to think of anything he could say to her just then to justify the reason for his lack of speech.

Quickly he ran through the number of Decree's she had yet to cross off. There were tons that were related to things that would be impossible, and there were over half that she had already accomplished in one way or another as well.

"Potions," he managed to strangle out.

"Potions?" she asked in confusion.

"Uh," he cleared his throat, "well, Decree Fifty-Five, it's against any potion being used outside of the Hospital Wing or Potions Class. What, what were you planning for that one."

"Oh," she seemed to deflate slightly at that. "Actually, I guess we already accomplished that one with spiking Pince's tea this evening, didn't we?"

"No," he shook his head, "I had Dobby put it in her tea. Doesn't count if someone else does it for you."

"Fair point," she leaned back against the wall opposite him. "Maybe I'll just have to spike someone's drink with one of the twins Love Potions. Could be a fun gag, and crosses two off the list. Though I've already done Decree Thirty myself."

"Whose drink?" he demanded.

She gave him a shrug. "Not sure. Maybe someone that I already know is interested, just to give them a little push to make a move already." She gave him this intense look for a moment, then gave another small shrug, "or I could have some real fun and mess with someone's head. Someone that is a real pain."

She knew. There was no way that she didn't know what he was thinking right then with a comment like that. He shouldn't need a Love Potion for something like this though. He could do this. He could man up.

Taking a stride forward with determination he cupped the side of her head and crushed his lips to hers.

She let out a startled squeak at how abrupt he'd been, but it wasn't long before she was kissing him back.

It didn't take him more than a moment to see that this wasn't anything like how it had been with Cho.

Ginny's body simply melted against his as her arms came around him to pull him even closer. Her lips were so soft and felt like absolute bliss under his. His head grew fuzzy as he pushed her gently back against the wall. He needed the extra support if he was going to manage to stay upright.

This was real snogging. Her mouth moving feverously against his. Her tongue met his lips and he groaned at the invitation, opening his own mouth to meet her tongue with his own.

As he settled in against her, enjoying the dance their lips were participating in, his hands began to wander. He was cautious at first, hands on her hips only, but as their snogging grew more heated she was making these, these little slow movements with her whole body. Rocking her chest forwards slightly so her breasts were pressed firmly against his chest, then pulling back slightly and her hips wiggling ever so slightly side to side. Like she was trying not to thrust against him and his growing erection.

He'd barely had any control over himself these past few months with those; chaos and dark times all around, and yet every morning he'd woken with a woody. Sitting in class, suddenly he was hard. Thinking about Ginny these past two days and it had become an even more regular occurrence.

Right now, at least it was justified.

Tentatively he tugged her shirt free from her skirt, splaying his fingers over the skin of her curves at her sides. She tugged his head more firmly against hers, fingernails gently scratching against his scalp. He took that as a sign of encouragement to keep exploring beneath her shirt. She let out a groan of appreciation when he wound his fingers around to her back, causing her to arch against him again while he rubbed his palms along her spine.

The fact that she was his best friends little sister wasn't even registering with him right then, nor that she had six brothers that would pound him into an early grave if they found out what he was doing with her now, or how much more he wanted to do.

She was just Ginny, with the perfect lips, soft skin and encouraging moans. Merlin did she ever smell good too.

He let out a groan of his own when she bit his lower lip. He wasn't sure why that had spurred on his carnal needs so much, but it felt so good. He pulled his lips away from hers and started kissing down her jaw, under her ear and down her neck.

The angle wasn't working properly for him. He had to stoop too much.

His hands moved down to cup her arse and pull her up. She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist and the two of them moaned over the way that felt. Her head fell to the side and he feasted on the subtle scent of her perfume that was under his tongue. There wasn't anything subtle about the squirming of her hips now; she was grinding against him.

They weren't lined up right though. He wanted her center against his, not just above his belt as it currently was.

He pulled her legs from around him and lowered them back to the floor, remaining between them as her skirt rode up and their lips met again. She gasped as he groaned at the feel of her heat through his trousers.

"Ginny," he managed.

"Fuck, don't stop," she exclaimed, her lips against his.

His first full, proper thrust against her had him seeing stars. He'd wanked many a time over the past few months, but the feel of her rocking back against him was what dreams were made of.

The pair of them grunted and groan their encouragement as they thrust against each other. Their lips were no longer touching as they focused on the sensations their lower halves were bringing about.

He almost lost it when she reached between them, touching his erection through his trousers and adjusting it so it was properly pointing up at his belly button before pulling his hips flush against her once more and groaning loudly at the feel of him against exactly where she wanted him.

They were both breathing heavy as she twirled her hips slightly with her up and down movements.

"I'm," Ginny cried softly, her head thrown back.

Harry licked his lips, feeling his familiar build up coming over him. He couldn't stop it from coursing through him and he let out a final groan as his own moisture soaked his shirt and trousers just above his belt.

Ginny let out a little strangled gasp herself as the two of them slowed down their movements until they stopped altogether.

"Um," Ginny started after a moment when they'd come down a bit from their high, "where did that come from?"

"Uh," he thought a moment in confusion, "just, you know. Hadn't meant for it to go that far, but didn't want you to think I needed a Love Potion to kick my arse in gear." His hands were settled back on her hips and he pulled his head back from where it had been resting on her shoulder so he could look at her properly.

"I," she started, surprise written all over her features, "I wasn't talking about-" she cut herself off.

"What?" he took a step back from her then. She hadn't been talking about him? But she just. They just. "Who?" he asked or demanded rather.

She started to chuckle, licking her lower lip before biting it gently. "I was talking about Dean Thomas. I didn't think that _you_ were interested."

"But," he took another step back from her, "but then why did you just let me…" he couldn't even get the words out. They had just gotten each other off, they had a brilliant snog. She'd been so keen on it.

"Harry. What I meant was, I didn't think that _you_ were interested in _me. I_ have always been interested in _you._"

He was confused. "But if you're interested in me then why would you have slipped Dean a Love Potion?"

She scoffed at him lightheartedly, "You think I should have slipped it to you and hoped for the best? I wouldn't do that to you,_" _she stated. "And just how long do you think I should have been sitting around waiting for you to decide you're interested?"

"So, what, Dean would have just been a distraction or something? Just tiding you over? Something to pass the time?"

"Pretty much," she admitted, not seeming chuffed about it, more confused with his reaction.

"You can't just use people like that!"

She raised her eyebrows at him, "What are you getting so bent out of shape over? It isn't like I would been breaking his heart or anything. You dated Cho, are you still gutted over that ending?"

"I wasn't secretly pining over you at the time," he argued. "Was that what Corner was as well?"

"Yes," she said, her volume higher than it had been. "And I can't believe you're getting so worked up over my attempts to have a life while you were completely oblivious to how much you were hurting me by your inability to see me as anything other than Ron's sister."

Harry was at a loss for words over that. It was true, he hadn't seen her as anything other than his friends' sister, the one that used to have a crush on him. The difference was that he hadn't known he was hurting her feelings; she knew that she would have been simply using other guys.

How long would it have been if he hadn't found her notebook? How many guys would she have dated if it took a few more years for him to really notice her? Or forever? Would she have done with them what they just had?

"Just how far are you going with these boyfriends you're treating like playthings?" he asked incredulously.

He regretted it the moment it left his mouth, but he couldn't take it back now.

Her face was completely devoid of the anger and determination it had been showing before he asked. Now she was showing nothing but hurt. "Fuck you, Harry," She managed as her chin quivered and eyes teared up. "You know what? You agreed that you wouldn't tell anyone about what we got up to tonight. Well, you can just stick to that, alright?" she gave him a shove in the chest.

"Ginny, wait," he blocked her from leaving, "I'm sorry, alright."

"No, it's not alright. You just go ahead and think I'm some manipulative slag." She tried to get around him again.

"I don't!"

"Yes, you do! I'm pretty sure that it being one of the first things out of your mouth proves it. You're all about instinct, aren't you? Well you know what? Yeah, I've been harboring feelings for you for years, and that's the only reason this happened in here. But just because I've been holding out hope on you doesn't mean that I'm incapable of having feelings from someone else. And I do like Dean, enough that I would have given him a chance if he'd asked and simply hoped that it turned out to be something real."

She shoved him out of the way of the door. He pulled her back though.

"Ginny, no. I'm sorry. I don't want you to try something with Dean."

"So, what are you saying then?" she asked, her anger and determination coming back. "You want me to yourself? Want to let my brothers know that you're getting up to some Decree breaking with me?"

"I-" he hesitated. Ron would probably kill him if he found out.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she said sadly. "You don't want me, but you don't want anyone else to have me. That's real nice, Harry."

"That's not what it is," he protested meekly.

"Doesn't seem that you _do_ know what it is. I'm tired of waiting around for you Harry. I think we need to just forget that this ever happened, and you need to just go back to barely registering me in your background."

"No," he started, but she pried her wrist out of his grasp and left him there to bask in the awkwardness of it all.

He didn't go after her. There wasn't any defense or excuse he had for saying what he did, chasing after her then would have only had him digging himself more of a hole.

The rest of the school year she barely looked at him, even when the fought at the Ministry. He received her support and sympathy plus one hug from her after losing Sirius, but it wasn't nearly long enough. It wouldn't have been even if the hug lasted a full day.

He'd really stuck his foot in his mouth and hurt her feelings.

On the train ride home, he found out that Dean Thomas had indeed made a move on her. And Ron's reaction to it hadn't been too awful. Which made Harry feel all the more gutted about because it could have been him.

()()()

**AN- Sorry I had to end it on that note, but I am trying to claim the 'Awkward Smut' tile.**


	17. Curator Conspiracy

**AN- Prompt provided by J. Jamie Dupane. Basic premise is; Harry goes to library a shy lonely guy and comes out in love with a sassy hot redhead, Muggle AU, Hermione had something to do with them meeting.**

**()()()**

**Curator Conspiracy**

**()()()**

Saturday night in a resort town.

It meant that there were plenty of places that one could go for a pint and find happenings about town. There was a Casino down by the waterfront and nice old-fashioned trolley car that had late service running to Plymouth, where there were even more night life options.

It was what most people were doing right then. Most people that weren't academics.

Well, okay, most people that were academics too. That was just the lie that he told himself.

The other professors that he worked with loved to tie one on on the weekends. He'd been invited to several dinner parties and social outings that involved heavy drinking and bitching about the students and parents they had to put up with at the boarding school where he worked. He just wasn't one that would opt to go out and tie one on unprompted. It was always at someone else's insistence.

He'd been making more of an effort though; to head out instead of staying in his one-bedroom flat.

One bedroom flat, _plus den_.

When he'd been looking at flat's in the area, the 'den' part was supposed to be what really sold the place. It already had a sitting room though, and it was just him. It wasn't like he needed to have yet another room to escape to.

What had really attracted him to live in that flat was the walkability. He could easily get from the school to Tesco and home in under twenty minutes. He didn't need a car at all to get around either, it was close to the train station in the middle of town.

His godfather, Remus, had been the one to really start nagging him about needing to get out and experience more that the town had to offer. Remus wasn't exactly a party person, he was a professor as well, in Exeter, not too far away. Remus was nicely settled down, but still went out on the town with his wife and had an active social life.

It wasn't that Harry was anti-social, he was just reserved. And he was always finding things to keep himself busy.

He'd promised though, at New Years, he'd promised that at least once a week he would go out and talk to someone that was not a work acquaintance. And he'd followed through on that promise. It was the middle of April now and once a week he would either go to the Torquay Library or to watch a football match at Snape's Pub.

The library might not seem like the place to go to strike up a conversation, but they did have events there sometimes. People just associate the library with a stuffy place full of books and stern-faced librarians that shush you for having too loud a tread, but the Torquay Library wasn't like that. They had authors that came in regularly to do readings in the events rooms, there were information sessions and workshops and the books that they had available for lending weren't just Shakespeare and reference books either. Hermione, the regular librarian, was really nice too and she'd suggested several books that she thought he'd enjoy, and he had.

He'd held several conversations with her, they had a lot of common interests to carry on about; geography, history, world news. She didn't care for sports though, but she was a lovely person and he enjoyed their chats.

She'd suggested he read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, something he probably should have read before he was twenty-five but hadn't picked up due to it's intimidating length. He was two weeks overdue with returning it as well. Again, it had an intimidating length. The copy he'd borrowed was 1069 pages long! With _really tiny_ printing. And it had started off _so slow_. It wasn't until he was nearly 300 pages in that he started really getting into it.

He pulled open the door to the library and held it open for an elderly couple that was just leaving. Harry loved how late the library was open in the evening on the weekends. He could accomplish everything that he wanted to get done on his Saturday such as home projects and grading assignments and still make it there in time. If there weren't any events going on that held his interest he would get there around eight and peruse or chat with Hermione until when it closed at nine.

His overdue book in hand he went up to the counter. There was no one there though.

It wasn't a large library, he took a look around at the rows of shelves, leaning back against the check-in desk and heard the wheelie cart move behind the counter.

He braced himself for some comment from her, looking down at the book in his hand. "Well, at least now I know who John Galt is," he said with a small laugh, turning around and looking up. It was the last thing he was able to say before his heart stopped.

He was sure he'd just died. That or there was something laced into his evening tea. Visions like this gorgeous woman he was now looking at didn't simply appear before someone with out something like that happening. Pale, yet sun kissed skin, full pink lips, beautiful deep brown eyes, a smattering of freckles on her cute nose. And that hair, it was red and brown and golden, mostly red.

His tongue felt two sizes too big, and he was sure that if he didn't close his mouth soon then he would actually start to drool. He's been attracted to other women before, but not like this.

He saw her lips move and there was a twinkle in her eyes as her left eyebrow cocked upwards. She was beginning to smile. It was a beautiful smile. One of her bottom teeth was a little crooked, but that just made her smile all the more unique.

But then she tilted her head to the side and reality came crashing back down around him and his brain caught up with it.

"What? S-sorry?" he asked, "could you repeat that?"

"I said, he was the creator of the motor that stopped the world," the goddess told him, gesturing at the book. "She made me read that one too."

Right, the book. He pried his eyes away from her and back down at the book in his hand. He was supposed to hand it over to her. Not her though. She wasn't the librarian. He looked back up at the goddess. "Where's Hermione?"

"Needed the night off for something," she told him. "Don't worry, I'm only covering for your girlfriend tonight. Doing her a favor."

"What? No! She's not my girlfriend. I don't have a girlfriend," he sputtered.

"It's okay," she leaned on the counter to get closer to him, looking as though they were conspiring over something and lowering her voice. "She told me about you," she looked him up and down. "At least, I'm sure it was you. Young, fit, messy black hair and lovely green eyes. Don't get too many 'tall, dark and handsome's' in here."

He was horrified. Hermione can't have had an interest in him like that. He hadn't given her any indication that he might be interested in _her_ like that. She was a pretty enough girl, but he was sure that she already had a boyfriend too. She'd mentioned someone named 'Ron' a few times.

"I don't know what she told you, but I'm not… we're not," he was shaking his head. "Doesn't she already have a boyfriend?"

She broke into a grin and started giggling at how flustered he was. "Good to know. I'll take that book from you now though," she held her hand out.

"What just happened?" he was so confused. He raised up his arm with the book in it automatically at her gesture. As she reached out, he caught a reflective glint off the name tag that was showing on her blouse. It said 'Hermione', but this girl was no Hermione.

"I was vetting you," she told him. "Hermione asked me to cover the last few hours of her shift so that she could have a romantic evening with her actual boyfriend. _My brother_. Can't blame me for making sure she isn't stepping out on him. Don't care how much of a good and lovely person she is, there is something about the 'sexy librarian' that get's the guys going." She gave him a wry smile.

Harry's brain stopped working properly again as he pulled up the memory of having watched that particular porno when he was a teenager. He couldn't help picturing this sexy librarian slowly taking off her non-existent glasses and lowering her voice to tell him just how overdue his book was.

"Are you flirting with me?" he found himself asking. It wasn't that it hadn't ever happened before that a female had been brazened and made her interest known, but he wasn't the best at picking up on it. This angel from heaven had called him 'fit' and said he had gorgeous eyes and given him that smile. But he had to ask to be sure.

"Yes," she smiled. "And now is when you are supposed to flirt back so I don't feel like an idiot."

"I'm crap at that," he admitted instantly.

"Let's pretend you aren't though," she rested her palms on the counter and leaned forward a little keenly. "What would you say?"

"Uh, can I have your number?" he took a shot in the dark.

She snorted, "you don't care what my name is? Just want my number?"

"Right! Probably would be the thing to ask first," he blushed.

There was something so open about her expression. The way she was meeting his eye was making him both flustered and yet comfortable. He was not at all prepared for an interaction like this. It had been a while since he'd attempted flirting and ages more since he'd had a steady girlfriend.

"Does she normally give you suggestions?" she asked, holding up his returned book before scanning it back into the computer and putting it on the cart behind her.

"Yeah, sometimes," he nodded.

"Well then, let me take a look at what you've been reading and see if I can think of something for you," she turned her attention to the computer in front of her. "Wow, Harry Potter, you seem to be quite the reader. And you don't just stick to one genre, that's nice. Means you're open to all sorts of ideas," she winked at him.

He caught her eyes traveling down him again, settling on his hand before looking back at the screen in front of her. He hoped she wouldn't be offended if he returned the favor. Giving her body a proper once over he could tell that she had rather the athletic form. Her jeans were nice and snug and the shirt she had on under her blazer was showing a small strip of skin just above her belt line. That shirt was rather flattering in how it hugged her, particularly the upper portion.

"Have you read Steven King? The Shining, in particular?"

He shook his head, "I've seen the film though."

Her eyes flashed with excitement for a moment, "but the book is so different. There's only so much that cinematography can capture. The build of the suspense is so much more when it takes three full pages to get to it. Actors can only portray so much emotion, but writers, they can describe the anxiety protagonists feel to the point of you feeling it as well. It's a completely different experience to read it."

"You seem to feel strongly about this," he commented. Her enthusiasm for the books was something she had in common with Hermione, he'd give her that.

"If there's a story that's been adapted to film I'll generally read it first before watching. The book is always better," she shrugged.

"Are you actually a librarian?" he asked.

"Um," she bit her lip. "No. Strictly speaking, Hermione could probably get in a lot of trouble for doing this, but it's a, ah, special night."

Harry's brow furrowed. "Is it her birthday, or an anniversary or something?" he guessed.

"No. Just, I'm pretty sure that she's about to become my sister-in-law," she grinned.

"Oh! And yet you were still vetting me to make sure she wasn't stepping out?" he chuckled in disbelief.

There was a lovely pink tinge that came to her face then. It looked good on her. "Right. Well, that was kind of a lie. I may have actually known who you were when you came in here. My friends and family have sort of," she broke out in a full-on blush, "taken it upon themselves to, if they meet a nice bloke in their day to day," she continued letting him take inference.

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Hermione had been chatting him up to this beautiful specimen? Surely she had her pick of men, why on earth would her friends and family be keeping an eye out for suitors for her.

"Well, they pester me incessantly, really," she admitted, trying to pass it off as a simple conversation piece. "It's rather grating to be honest."

"Hermione's been trying to set you up? With me?!" he hadn't seen this coming at all. He wasn't sure there was anything in his conversations with Hermione that would have led him to believe she wanted him to meet her potential future sister-in-law.

Nothing that he could remember anyhow.

"She doesn't mean any harm," she shook her head with a soft smile and turned back to the computer. She appeared a little more reserved now that she'd admitted that to him. "So, where did that leave us with The Shining? There's also this really interesting book called 'The 100 Most Influential People Who Never Lived'. It's a great read, all about how The Marlborough man and certain television characters shaped how we think as a society." She looked back up at him, biting her lower lip.

He was still lost for a moment. She brought up that he'd been offered as a potential dating type person, she was clearly single, so did that mean that he was supposed to make a move here? Ask her out?

"Harry?"

"Yes?" he blinked at her. Right, she'd asked a question. "Yes. Um, that second one does sound really interesting. Might give that a try before The Shining, since I already know how that one ends."

"Great. I enjoyed it! Liked how it was only a few pages on each important figure so I could fit in a chapter during breaks and such." She consulted the computer one more time. "There's a copy just over there," she said coming around the counter to show him where to find it on the shelf.

He couldn't resist watching the way she walked. It was purposeful, determined.

"You never actually told me your name," he realized.

"You never actually asked," she retorted with a cheeky grin over her shoulder.

He gave a chuckle, "you know, it's funny. I was just teaching a class yesterday about using proper wording. Going over ramifications stemming from not being careful what you asked for. Sort of along the lines of 'be careful what you wish for' and getting the kids to write down something they wished for, then coming up with all the things that could potentially go wrong from them getting that wish."

She stopped at the shelf she had been looking for and turned back to him then, "sort of like, if you wished to be lush and powerful it could mean that you wind up being a Mafia Don, or a Cocaine Smuggler."

"Exactly!" he grinned. "Of course, I would hope that the twelve-year-old's I teach would come up with some more down to earth wishes and consequences than that, but it is essentially what they'd all said."

"Alright, well, give me a minute and I'll think of something a little more adult," she joked, pulling the book out for him.

He could think of several of his adult wishes right then that could use fulfilling. He took the book from her, their hands touching ever so slightly in the exchange. There wasn't any great spark that happened when their skin made contact like you read about in romance stories, but at least now he could say he'd been touched by an angel.

"What is your name?" he pressed.

"Why?" she asked teasingly, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly. It was like she was encouraging him to play a little game with him of twenty questions.

"You know mine; shouldn't I get to know yours?" he raised an eyebrow at her in humor. He'd play this game with her. There was only so much time left before the library closed. That was quite a lot of questions they could get through.

"But what good would just my name do you?" she challenged.

"You're right, you should give me your number as well," he stated.

She giggled softly, "there. You do know how to flirt."

"Didn't say I couldn't, just that I was crap at it," he admitted.

"Ginny," she told him. "It's short for Ginevra. And no, I'm not a librarian by trade."

She was distracted by the sound of the bell that was on the counter by the check-out. Straightening up she hurried around him, letting her hand run down his arm as she went passed.

Ginny. That was a nice name. A common name like Natalie or Sarah or something wouldn't have suited her, but Ginevra, that was a name that was more unique.

He watched as she assisted an older gentleman with checking out his books. She chatted with him easily as they made the exchange, her smile pleasant and her overall body language being relaxed and airy.

Hermione had wanted them set up. That was a revelation. It meant that he'd already passed some kind of bar that had been set by her friend. Sort of like there was this hurdle that he'd already crossed to let her know that he wasn't some creep off the street.

It wasn't often that he came across beautiful witty single women his age. And if Hermione wanted to set him up with her then that would mean that there was more about Ginny than just her startlingly good looks. He liked what he knew about her so far; she could flirt, she preferred books over movies, she'd cover for a friend so that they could have a lovely night out with their beau.

She glanced back over at him, giving him a smile just for him before turning back to the gentleman she was assisting and wishing him a good evening.

He went up to the counter. "Suppose I should check this out then."

"Did you have to head out?" she asked, looking put out.

He was unsure what to do, "well, I just-"

"Thought you might like to stay and keep me company. There's only another twenty minutes before the library closes, and no one else in here. My options are to either chat with you or play Solitaire on this computer."

"I win out against Solitaire?"

She opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself and more color came to her cheeks. "Yes," she nodded.

His eyes narrowed at her and turned his head slightly in query, "what was it you stopped yourself from saying?"

She shook her head, "just. Just something about, um, playing with yourself." She bit her lip hard in a grimace. "Sorry, it's just, I have six brothers," she explained, "conversation always turns rather raunchy and it is simply my default."

"You have _six_ brothers?" he asked astounded, moving right passed the 'playing with yourself' bit. The thought of someone who looked like her 'playing with herself' was dangerous for him to do in public.

"Yeah. I'm the only girl," she sighed.

"Well, tell me what that was like," he pulled up a chair so they could sit down across from each other and chat until it was time to leave.

The conversation flowed easily between the two of them. She was the youngest of seven and currently working as an Event Coordinator at a swanky country club just outside of Torquay. She'd moved to this side of the country after a string of bad luck near London and was staying with Ron and Hermione.

He told her about working at the boarding school and how his Godfather was the one that got him interested in becoming a professor. He'd been with the school for two years now and thus far his pupils hadn't started an insurgency against him.

At one point he'd got her laughing so hard that she reached out and grasped his hand while she gathered herself back together. It felt lovely, her hand in his.

"So, I need to lock up now," she told him as the hour drew close. "But I really would rather not head back to Ron and Hermione's until late. Just in case they're, you know, celebrating too loudly?"

"Oh, no. Completely understand," he said eagerly. If they could continue carrying on like this that'd be great. "The weather was quite nice on the way here. Would you like to go for a walk? Maybe grab a drink?"

"Yeah," she grinned.

"The bad luck," he started after she'd bolted the doors shut, "back in London, care to elaborate? Was it simply vocational?"

"No," she said sadly. "As these kinds of stories always do, it involved a man."

"Thus the reason that your friends and family are now trying to find you one?"

"That's right. Can't trust me to find a nice one myself. My mum and dad were pushing me towards a landscaper they dealt with when they re-did their garden."

"Burly and tanned?"

"Bumbling and shy actually," she corrected. "He was darling, but there was nothing there."

"What about your brothers?" he asked. "Any of them throwing their mates at you?"

Ginny snorted, "no. They curse their mates if any one of them ever make a comment or attempt though."

"None of them worthy then?" he laughed.

"So few are," she dramatized by tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"I believe it," he said seriously.

"Hey," she stopped and took his hand to stop him as well.

He turned to face her, curious about why they were stopping and worried he'd said something wrong. She took a step closer to him, pulling on his hand a bit so he had to come closer to her as well. Then her lips were on his. It was soft and sweet and warm and it didn't last nearly long enough before she pulled back.

"You are a nice guy, aren't you?"

"I try to be," he said softly, not quite believing that just happened.

"Good," she stepped back. "I just wanted to get that out of the way."

He grinned at her. _She _kissed _him_. She was bold, which was perfect because he was certainly not and would have had her waiting a rather long time if he was to be the one to make the first move.

"How about that drink then?" he suggested.

"I'd like that," she nodded and they carried on down the way. "It's nice to get out of the house. I've only been leaving for work and family functions lately. Kept waiting for the weather to turn nice."

"What would you have done after covering for Hermione? Simply barred the door to your room with enough supplies for this evening and tomorrow?"

"Probably," she shrugged. "I'd have swiped Ron's dvd collection and a bag of crisps then hole up watching CSI or TopGear or something."

"You know, I never thought I'd be interested in a car show, but that one really caters to all types, doesn't it?"

"You like it?" she asked brightly.

"I do. Even have the special's on disc." He hesitated. "I've, erm, got some becks and a bottle of red back at mine," he offered. "Probably shouldn't take this to the pub on a Saturday night," he added, clutching the lended book and hoping that the feeble excuse might be enough to convince her that his want of being alone with her wasn't entirely for that sole purpose.

"Hmm, but what have you got in the way of nibbles?" she asked wryly. "Can't watch an hour and a half long special without something to munch on."

"I've," he thought back to his sparse fridge and bare cupboards. He'd been mostly eating take away or ramen. "We're close to Tesco," he finished hopefully.

"Let's do it," she grinned.

"Now," he started once they were in the brightly lit grocers, "are you the cheese and crackers type, or crisps? Please don't tell me you aren't simply looking for carrot sticks," he joked.

"No to the carrot sticks, I wouldn't mind cheesy bread sticks though," she picked up a clear bag with six of the doughy items.

"Girl after my own heart," he grinned.

"I must say, this far exceeds my expectations for the evening," Harry told her as they got back out onto the street with a bag full of everything that had caught their interest. Ginny was rather fun to shop with. He'd picked up a box of crackers and she'd swiftly exchanged it for another type explaining why his initial brand was inferior. He'd scoffed and put both options in his basket stating that they'd just have to see which one was inferior by trying both. It was the same way with the cheeses and the deli meats. It was enjoyable squabbling. They were getting along fabulously. His knot in his belly about having her come back to his was slowly loosening with ever smile, every word, every twinkle in her beautiful brown eyes that was directed at him.

"Can I just ask?" he started as they drew closer to his. "I know you said Hermione was chatting me up to you, but… we did _just_ meet. And now you're okay with coming back to my flat."

"You're wondering if I do this often?" she asked wearily, a sad frown forming on her lips.

"No," he assured her. "I'm more just wondering why it is you seem so alright with the whole thing."

There was a tenseness that released from how she'd been holding herself. "Oh," she blushed, "I. I kind of feel like I already know you. Like we didn't _just_ meet. I may have looked you up."

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it's just. Hermione knows what I might like better than my brothers or parents and she'd been getting to the point of nagging. So, I looked you up."

"What- what did you find?" he wondered. He can't have had much of an online presence. He didn't even have a Facebook account.

"Well, there was your picture on the boarding school website," she said first. "And your short biography with where you went to school and the volunteer work you'd done."

"So, you really did know exactly who I was when you first saw me." He couldn't believe it; she'd looked him up. She saw his picture and _liked what she saw_.

"Have I just made things too weird?" she worried and stepped back. "You know, I could just head back to my place." She started to turn around.

"What? No! I don't want you to go anywhere," he instinctively reached out and pulled her closer with his free hand. "I promise you, I'm pleasantly surprised, that's all."

"Really?" she asked weakly.

"Really. Ginny, you're beautiful," he told her with a blush. "I'm amazed really. I was at a complete loss for words when I first saw you because of it. And you've become even more appealing as the nights gone on."

Her own cheeks were tinting pink as she stepped even closer to him. "So, it is just your flirting that you're crap with. Because you seem to have flattery down perfectly."

He was the one to move forward this time, lowering his lips to hers and pressing her close to him with his free arm. She sighed against his lips as she kissed him back. The cadence of their kiss built slowly and he was in absolute bliss. She fit perfectly against him, her arms around his neck as she allowed the kiss to deepened further.

It had been a long while since he'd had the pleasure of a woman in his arms though and he knew he needed to step back and collect himself before he got too excited. He pulled back slightly, not breaking their contact yet, just taking his time to slow it back down. They were on the street after all.

"Mine's just a block ahead," he whispered.

"Perfect."

"This is a great location," she commented when he let her into the flat. She kicked her shoes off, adding them to his extra's and asked with her eyes if she could take a look through the space on her own.

He nodded her further into the flat and went to the kitchen to put the food together in a presentable manner. "The walkability was one of the main reasons I wanted the space," he told her. "Was it a Beck's or wine you were interested in?"

"I'll start with a Beck's please," she called back. "You've a good-sized loo in here. The building can't be too old. That or they renovated not long ago." She came into the kitchen and took the beer he offered her. "I've been keeping my eye open for a flat like this one available. There really isn't much in the area, just rooms for let."

He nodded in understanding, "was a stroke of luck my getting this place. And it was for purchase actually. Don't think I could have found a place like this for let."

"You own it?" she asked in surprise.

"Um, yeah," he replied. Torquay was a rather lush area and even his small flat would have been well out of price range for most their age, particularly it being just him. The only reason he could afford it was because of the money his parents left him, not exactly ideal 'date' conversation.

She must have gauged his unwillingness to get into it. "Making sure there is equal portions of the competing brands, aren't you?" she looked over his shoulder at the plate he was assembling and changing the subject.

"Don't worry, I'll make you try just as much of my superior brand as I have to try of your inferior," he chided.

"Be sure you do," she rolled her eyes. "Which special is it we're watching then?" she asked, glancing over to the sitting room and doing a double take, eyes darting around the room. "Um, Harry? Where's your telly?"

"Oh," he blushed, not having thought of that before. "It's, erm. See, I usually only switch it on for something to watch before bed," he tried to explain.

Her eyebrows went up, but she didn't seem taken aback by what he was telling her. "Alright then," she told him slowly in near a whisper, seeming nervously excited at the new information.

"Right. Um, actually. If you don't mind, could you just finish adding a few things to the plate and I'll…" he was growing flustered. "I just think I might need to tidy up a bit."

She grinned at him, "don't expect company over for watching things often?"

Their eyes locked again, he hoped his weren't broadcasting just how much he was looking forward to having her in his bed, even if it was just for a bit of telly watching. "No," he admitted.

There was a pleased glow that came about her at that and it made his own skin tingle to see it. She came forward and took the knife from his hand to keep cutting up bits of cheese for them. He tried not to fumble too much in his hurry. He'd need to quickly change the sheets and toss some of the items scattered around the room into the laundry basket, he'd worry about sorting it all later.

He kept the place fairly tidy, but not 'female company' tidy. And it had been over a week since he'd last changed the sheets. He took a big inhale as well to see if there was any kind of smell that didn't normally register to him in the space and wondered if she'd think he was being forward if there was a lit candle. He had one that smelled like a mocha and was pleasant.

In the back of the top shelf of his closet though there was an air freshener spray that smelled of apple spice. He fished around for it and gave the air two spritzes. That'd have to do, anything more and it might overwhelm them.

He searched through his dvd collection after getting the sheets dealt with and found the TopGear Winter Olympics Special and got the electronics started up for their viewing.

"All set? Or do I need to give you another moment?" she asked cheekily.

"Um," he took another quick look around. It all seemed to be in order. "Yeah, good."

She came in holding their two beers in one hand and the plate of food in the other. She was chuckling at him. "If it only took you that long to tidy up then you didn't have nearly the mess my room currently does."

"You say that, but I'll kindly ask you not to check what all I've just chucked in the hamper," he told her in jest as she settled herself against the pillows. He couldn't help appreciating the sight of her on his bed before he settled in beside her, now wishing he'd gone for something smaller than a Queen; that way they'd have been stuck closer together.

"Norway episode?" she asked, gesturing at the opening menu displaying on the telly.

"Norway," he nodded and clicked for the remote to start it.

They made it to the halfway point of the show by the time the food was done with and he'd needed to pause it to get them both another drink. They'd chatted and laughed intermittently during the first half over what antics had gone on. She'd told him of her limited travels and he of his.

Coming back to the bed after their break she was shifting around slightly more than she had been.

"Are you uncomfortable?" he asked.

"It's just these jeans. Not really made for lounging around," she told him.

He swallowed hard, "I could get you a pair of sleep shorts," he offered.

He watched as her eyes seemed to go darker while she thought over his offer. "If you don't mind," she said.

He paused the show again and went to his dresser, pulling out his smallest pair of shorts, hoping, yet not, that they wouldn't simply fall over her hips.

"Thanks," she slipped off to the loo to change into them, taking a bit longer than should have been necessary for the wardrobe change.

He'd taken the opportunity to shed his own trousers, hesitating over whether he should keep on his boxers before shedding them as well and dropping them in the hamper, and pulled on pajama pants.

Harry was settled back against the pillows again when she came in with her jeans folded in one hand, and the other at the side of the shorts to keep them up. "Not exactly the perfect fit," she grinned with a blush, "but they're much more comfortable."

They came down to her mid-thigh, he was glad then that he'd opted to get under the blanket now that he was seeing her wearing his clothes. She had great legs, and the cotton on those shorts was rather thin. He wondered if he'd have offered her a shirt of his if she'd simply wear only that and lose the shorts.

Ginny followed his lead and climbed under the blanket as well, moving closer against him. They each grabbed for their bottles and cheers'd before he restarted the show. He moved his arm so that it was around her shoulders. "Is this alright?"

She snuggled in closer to him, "yeah."

He tried to focus on the show, but all he could think about was how her side was pressed up against his and how warm she was. She smelled good too, and the skin under his fingers was soft. He didn't realize he was stroking it until she sat up and set her beer back down on the nightstand, taking his out of his hand too.

"I'm not really interested in the show anymore," she told him.

"No?" he blinked at her, worried she was about to get up and leave.

"No," she moved back against him, her eyes not leaving his.

Oh. She wasn't interested in the _show_ anymore. Her hand came to his chest and she pulled him to her, their mouths meeting and he let out a groan as they pressed their bodies together. They didn't start off slow this time, she was diving right in and he was falling into it right after her. They were a tangle of arms and legs as he lay her down.

She felt marvelous against him and his body was acting instinctively with her encouraging sighs against his lips and wandering hands. Her small hand at his lower back was traveling upwards and massaging the muscles there, he groaned at the feeling of it and rutted against her. She gave a delighted shiver and wound her legs around him tighter as their kiss deepened.

Their tongues met tentatively at first and then more confidently. His lips broke apart from hers only to trail down her jaw and neck to her collar. This time it was she that rocked against him. His hand came up over her shirt and he grasped at her breast, desperate to get a proper feel of it under the cloth, to put his mouth against it and suck a hard nipple into his mouth.

He didn't want to push though, but any exposed skin must be fair game, right? Right. He shifted down her body and to the 'V' point in her shirt to bury his face in her cleavage as she arched her back encouragingly. He wove his hand under her bum and gave it a squeeze. Her arse cheek was the perfect size to cup completely with his fingers splayed out.

Again, she rocked against him, her hot center pressed against his belly and radiating the warmth of it, which cascaded out through his whole body.

"Could you please take your shirt off?" he all but begged before he kissed the top of her breasts. They were so soft.

"Bra," she compromised immediately in a breathy voice.

He pulled back from her, watching with fascination as she maneuvered herself around and quickly released the catch on her bra and slid the straps down both her arms to pull it the item out the front of her shirt, tossing it to the ground. It was done with remarkable speed, something only a seasoned hand could do. Then she was pulling his shirt over his head and bringing him back down to lay with her.

Her legs wound around him again as their mouths met once more. They devoured each other as his hand ran up the underside of her thigh, slipping under the sleep shorts. She didn't want to remove her shirt, which was fine, but he didn't know if that meant no touching _under_ their clothes.

She arched her back again, throwing back her head and groaning as his fingers brushed against her sex. "Harry," she panted and thrust herself against him.

It was music to his ears. He wanted to give her pleasure and make her say his name over and over again. Wanted to use his mouth on her, have her use her mouth on him. Take her completely.

But he would do with rocking against her and rubbing her over her knickers until she said so.

Her hands found his arse and she encouraged him to move against her in time with his fingers. It was too difficult to maintain that position though. Concentrating on that was taking away from the experience. He pulled his hand away, settling himself more securely against her middle and grasped at her breast, rubbing his thumb over her pert nipple, his tongue tracing circles against her neck, wishing it was on her breast then instead.

"Under," she panted.

"Under?"

"I want your hand under my shirt," she moaned.

In a flash he dove his hand under her shirt and palmed her breast hard in his eagerness. He could feel how hot she was growing as they ground themselves against each other. She whimpered at the feel of his hand properly against her flesh and grasped him by the hair to pull his mouth against hers.

Her other hand came between them and she seized him through his pants.

He let out a groan at the feel of her hand on him. He grabbed at her wrist and pinned it to the bed beside her head. "You're going to make me embarrass myself if you do that again."

She kept rutting against him. "Needed to adjust," she panted, "going to _embarrass_ myself soon."

"Oh fuck," he crushed his lips to hers and moved against her more determinedly, his erection sliding along her clit as she twirled her hips with his forward and back movements.

Her breath was coming out in short desperate gasps as his climax drew nearer. With an almighty groan from her and a new rush of warmth against the underside of his cock he knew she'd just cum. His arm wove under the small of her back as he held her hard against him, thrusting unwaveringly until his own finish shot through him.

He collapsed on top of her as his body relaxed. His head was spinning. "That was," was all he managed to say.

She shifted slightly under him. He realized he might have been crushing her, and rolled to his side, pulling her with him. He would have fallen asleep immediately had he not been able to feel the uncomfortable mess he'd just made.

"That was," she repeated his words contently as she cuddled beside him.

He enjoyed the last bit of pleasure that his orgasm allowed, letting his head get back on right before kissing her forehead and sliding out from the bed to clean himself up in the loo.

He finished up quickly and went to the hallway as she was coming out of the bedroom to do the same.

Her hair was mussed and her lips were bruised. Her nipples were still hard and showing through her shirt. Harry gathered her in his arms in a daze and snogged her soundly, pressing her against the wall in the hallway by his bedroom.

"Will you stay the night?" he begged, unable to stop his hand from sliding under her shirt and up her side again to cup her breast again.

"Yes," she sighed against his lips, sucking his bottom lip between her teeth and nipping him gently before pushing him away so she could use the loo.

He went back to the bed and fell back on it, completely content. Three hours ago he'd been simply going to return a book, now he'd be spending the night with a gorgeous redheaded goddess. He'd have to get Hermione something very nice as a thank-you for pushing Ginny in his direction.

Ginny came back to the bedroom and crawled under the blankets with him, they exchanged some lazy kisses as they fell asleep, the show still going on and illuminating the room with its glow.

As the morning dawned Harry awoke not to the light coming in through the curtains, but to the sensation of something rubbing against his front.

Tantalizingly rubbing against his front, actually.

He cracked his eyes open slightly as a sigh of contentment escaped his lips. Ginny's red hair was all he could see as he spooned her from behind. Her bum was rubbing against his morning erection and it felt wonderful.

It was his assurance that it hadn't all been a dream as well.

His arm was around her waist and he moved his hand under her shirt again to explore the playground that was her body. She hummed in pleasure at his touch. Grasping her under her hip he pulled her tighter against him, responding to the movement of her hips with his own.

"Take off you bottoms," She whispered.

"Are you sure?" he asked. He wanted her to say yes. His whole body was begging for it. His hand came between her legs, pushing under the shorts again. This time his fingers didn't meet the fabric of her knickers, instead the met her soft curls and moistness. She'd taken off her knickers last night. He groaned at the feeling and thrust harder against her bum. He spread her with his fingers, coating them with her before massaging her clit.

"I think you can feel how sure I am," she purred, rocking against him in time with his movements.

He grinned, satisfied with how riled up he'd gotten her. "In a moment darling. Seems there's work to do here." He dipped his finger inside her and was rewarded with a loud moan from her. She was so wet and tight. As his finger slid easily in and out of her he had to try not to get too worked up, but just this was making him dizzy with desire.

He added another finger inside her and she began rocking down against his hand, rather than back against his erection. Ginny moved her leg, pulling it over his so that he had easier access to pump his fingers inside her, pressing his palm against her clit. She was almost laying right on top of him, but if he didn't switch things up soon he might find himself with another mess in his pajamas.

She whimpered when he withdrew his fingers and shifted himself around, but made quick work of pulling off her clothes. He shed his bottoms too and came to be on his knees before her, between her legs and looking down at the amazing sight. Her eyes were heavy with sleep and lust as she stared down his frame, landing on his straining erection and biting her lip.

He couldn't help touching himself for a moment while he took in all there was to see. Her perky breasts, dusty rose nipples, the smattering of freckles that covered her whole body, and the nicely trimmed hair between her spread legs. He licked his lips at the sight of it.

"You going to be joining me down here?" she asked with a sensuous movement of her pelvis. She was essentially giving him the come-hither gesture with her labia.

He lowered himself on her, kissing her properly and trying not to give in to the way she was wriggling against him, attempting to get them to meet fully below the belt. "Mmm, not yet," he whispered as he moved to kiss his way down her body.

"Please, I want you."

He groaned, "and you'll have me. But not before I make you cum." He was grabbing her arse more firmly than he had, massaging her there to keep her spread for him as his mouth moved to worship at her breasts. He licked, suckled and kissed as much as he'd wanted to last night, paying careful attention to both of them before making his way down her body.

Her back arched up again as he drew closer, she sucked in a breath as he reached his destination. He spread her open before him and spent his time savoring the flavor of her while she rocked against his face. Then he moved up to focus solely on her clit.

The expletives he was hearing from her as he circled his tongue over her again and again grew into long whimpering moans and he pushed a single finger inside her just a little. She bucked hard against him at that and grasped his hair to pull him tighter against her sex, riding his tongue like a bucking bronco before she came.

He wanted to give her more time to recover, but he was already painfully hard and was sure that holding off any longer would be hazardous to his health.

The most he could manage was to take it slow as he eased himself inside her, giving an almighty groan at the tight heat that was now holding his cock in place. "Jesus. Fucking. H. Christ," he groaned as he started thrusting inside her.

"OH YES!" she cried as he filled her. Her hands came up to the wall behind her, pushing against it to give her the momentum to meet his thrusts.

"I'm not going to last," he panted, already feeling the pressure in his lower back that was making its way to his tightening bollocks.

"I don't care, just fuck me."

"Oh shit," it was almost his undoing to hear that response. He gave her what she asked for, giving it to her as hard as his body demanded before cumming loudly and crying out her name.

Slowly, he milked the last of his orgasm, wishing he could find the energy to stay hard and keep on shagging her through another round, but losing the battle. He pulled her over with him to lay on top of him, slipping out of her in the movement.

"Sorry," he whispered, "it's been a while."

"I still enjoyed it," she whispered back, giving a kiss to his chest. "If you can manage it, we can try that again after some breakfast. But that time, I get to be on top."

He knew he had the biggest, cheesiest grin on his face then, "I'm sending Hermione the biggest engagement present known to man."

"Hmm," Ginny hummed, "me too."

"Brilliant," he stated, finally catching his breath. "Now can I have your number?"

Ginny started laughing hard at that and fell to his side. "Yes. Now you can have my number."


	18. Companions

**AN- Another Muggle AU. Changes are self explanatory as you read along. Claiming the 'Friends with Benefits' Bingo Smut**

**()()()**

**June 2002**

Ron fell down into the seat beside him in the booth, well more sloshed than Harry was currently, but he was working on catching up. "Are you having a good time?" Ron slurred.

"Having a great time, Ron," Harry assured him with a laugh. He hadn't seen Ron let his guard down this much. If he was going to do it, tonight was the night; it was his bachelor party after all.

Harry was glad he could make it out for the festivities. He'd been concerned that his leave wouldn't get approved. He was completely ready for this break. He would have liked to have been able to agree to be in Ron's wedding party if he'd known for sure, but Ron already had several brothers and lots of mates from his days before the service to pick from. He didn't really need his old army buddy up there as well. It was an honor to have been asked though. Harry didn't have many close friends like Ron.

They'd kept in touch even though it had been two years already that Ron had left the service. Something Harry was considering more and more.

Ron had a pretty great life set up for himself. He'd earned enough in the army to put down a sizable down payment on a house and reconnected with his sweetheart from his school days, Hermione, who was as lovely a girl as they come, and now they were living in this quaint village close to their families with regular jobs and down time.

All very appealing.

Another person slid into the booth across from them, someone else who was well on their way to being sloshed. Unfortunately, this guy was obnoxious before he'd started drinking and was even more so now. "So how many times do you figure you're going to give it to her on the honeymoon, eh?" Dean asked Ron.

"Hey! That's my future wife you're talking about," Ron made an angry face at him.

"I'm not talking about _me_ banging her!" he defended. "Though she is entirely bangable."

"Dean," Ron warned.

"Alright, alright, next rounds on me!" he stood up and stumbled towards the bar.

"Dunno why I'm still friends with him," Ron muttered.

"Me either," Harry agreed.

"If he talks about nailing my sister again, can you hit him? Think I might miss," Ron squinted at Harry and asked seriously.

"He'd talk about that around all your brothers?" Harry's eyes wandered around the pub and he picked out the five other ginger men that were milling about having a good time.

"Wears it like a fucking badge of honor. And she hates him for it. So, we all hate him a little bit for it."

"Then why was he invited to the wedding?"

Ron gave a shrug, "small town."

Harry supposed that would be reason enough for Ron's family to have allowed Dean to join in. Harry hadn't met a more welcoming family. Their first deployment when Ron and he were put into the same team Ron's mum had sent everyone in their unit a tin of fudge, and Harry even got a hand knit sweater with a note thanking him for keeping an eye out for her youngest boy. He'd been very touched by the gesture.

Harry himself was an orphan, he had some blood-related family about, but they didn't want him, so he'd been a ward of the state. Bumped around to a few foster homes and had pieced together scraps of family as he'd gone. There were a few of his foster parents through the years that had become as close to parents as they could. His closest pseudo father though had passed away from cancer a year after Harry had signed up for the service. The Christmas that Mrs. Weasley had sent him the gift was his first without Remus around. It had made her gift all the more special.

Harry had met all of the Weasley boys now, and Ron's mum had brought him into a tight hug when he'd first arrived two days ago. She'd insisted he feel right at home staying in their farmhouse, even enlisting him to do a few chores, which he was happy to do.

He'd met Hermione and a few of her bridesmaids, the only one left to meet was Ron's sister Ginny. She was a journalist. War correspondent actually. They'd never crossed paths though, doing their tours. He'd tried to reach out to her once when Ron told him they were in the same city in Afghanistan, but by the time he'd gotten the letter he found out she'd been sent back to England.

Her mum was not at all keen on her only daughter being in dangerous countries though. She was worried Ginny would wind up one of the reporters that gets captured and held for ransom by guerrillas or ISIS. Harry had been about to tell her the odds of that happening being slim, but he'd been kicked in the shin by Ron, and later told that it was useless saying anything of the sort, his mum would just start laying into him instead.

A tray of drinks was put down on the table, "drink up boys! We all have to be equally liquored up for darts." Seamus was one of Ron's school mates that Harry didn't mind. He was a little crass, but in a funny way, not an 'out to prove yourself' way like Dean seemed.

Harry was the only one of their old unit that managed to make it out for the wedding, so Ron was really the only one he knew well, but he got on famously with Ron's twin brothers, and Charlie, who was the second eldest of the family. Charlie had done a few years in the army too and had been Ron's reason for joining up.

The stag night carried on and the drinks flowed. There was a pornographic cake, thankfully there weren't any strippers that popped out of it (he could only imagine any strippers in this area of the country would have been well known by everyone), and the darts and pool games had turned into a tournament.

The next morning though Harry was regretting it.

He woke in the small guest room at the Weasley farmhouse. How he'd gotten there he wasn't sure, but he was grateful that someone seemed to have taken care of him. He was still fully dressed save for his shoes and socks and he was warmly wrapped in a blanket. His head was absolutely killing him and the amount of sun shining in must have been conjured by a demon.

His mouth tasted horrible. Smacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth a few times he tried to figure out if it was vomit or simply an ill-advised combination of beer and shots.

There was no telling what time it was. The last two days when he'd woken up it had been to the lovely scent of bacon cooking in the kitchen. If he smelled it right then though it might have made him dash for the bin in the corner. He fumbled around, trying to figure out where his mobile might be. He usually kept it on the nightstand, unless it was still in his pocket on the jeans he could tell he was wearing.

He turned his head and waited for the horrible thumping feeling to stop before opening his eyes a tiny bit and seeing there was a glass of water and two pills set out for him, and yes, his mobile was there on the stand.

Managing to pull himself up he popped the pills into his mouth, not bothering to check what exactly they were and downed half the glass of water before sinking back down on the bed and putting the pillow over his head.

Just twenty minutes or so, that'd be all he'd need for the pills to start working their magic.

His body gave a lurch. He must have fallen asleep. The pillow was still over his face, but there was less pain in his head. Not too gracefully he made it to sit up on the bed and get his feet over the side.

The house was still quiet save for water that was running in the bathroom.

He really needed to use that bathroom himself. A wee and a shower would probably make all the difference right then; he smelled ripe and felt it too.

This was a one-bathroom house though. He'd been told the rules about the bathroom when he'd first arrived. After spending the past four years on army bases he didn't have any qualms about those rules. The Weasley household had no lock on the bathroom door. If someone was in the shower, then someone else could still go in and use the toilet or the sink. They had all their toothbrushes and such down at a second sink in the kitchen however to free up the bathroom time for someone else who needed it, but guests were allowed to leave theirs in the main bathroom.

He got to his feet and managed to keep his eyes open just enough to get out of his room and head towards the bathroom. Halfway there he had to stop and rest a hand against the wall, there was a gurgling going on in his belly that was posing a threat. He closed his eyes and willed his throat to close up and make anything he'd ingested last night go the opposite way out of his stomach.

Now he smelled the faint scent of breakfast. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen humming away.

He cringed at the smell.

She was probably trying to be nice. She probably heard him getting up and put bread in the toaster and bacon in the pan. She probably knew the smell was going to set all the stag night attendees spewing their guts up and was doing it all maliciously. While cackling under her breath.

Harry rushed the rest of the way to the bathroom with a hand over his mouth, turning the doorknob and making a beeline to kneel in front of the loo, retching up the appetizers and whiskey from last night until there was nothing left.

He sat back against the wall when he was done, grasping for toilet paper to wipe his face and feeling both better for it and awful. He hated throwing up, but in situations like this it was the best course of action.

The steam in the bathroom felt good, like it was slowly making the alcohol seep out of his pores. He gave a groan of satisfaction and flushed the toilet, causing a feminine squeal to come from the shower.

"You prick!" a woman shouted. "You knew I was in here, why'd you flush the bloody toilet?"

Oh shit, the thought. He'd forgotten that the plumbing in this house was set up like that. He might have laughed a bit if it had been one of the boys in there, but he wasn't sure which of the girls was behind the curtain. So far as he knew all the ladies in the bridal party from out of town were staying at Ron and Hermione's.

The shower shut off and a small hand darted out to the towel rack, yanking one of the large ones in the stall with her.

Harry just sat there, unable to move from his exhaustion and sickness, staring dumbly as the curtain was pulled back to show it was Ginny Weasley, the youngest and only girl of the brood. Whom he was meeting for the first time as she was standing there dripping wet and modestly covered in a towel with her hair piled high on her head.

He could do no more than stare at her. She was so fit. He'd thought so every time he'd seen a picture of her that Ron showed him. She'd been a good-looking girl when she was a teenager and the more recent pictures he'd seen of her showed she'd been getting better looking as the years went on.

She didn't seem too surprised to see that it wasn't one of her brothers that had accidentally turned her water from hot to freezing cold. She just pursed her pretty lips together and stepped out of the tub and onto the mat.

He watched with a slack jaw and slightly raised eyebrow as she turned around and began toweling herself off, always keeping the important bits covered, but getting every bit of her dry. If his brain could function properly in his haze he'd have appreciated the show a little more. As it was though he couldn't help wondering if there was any mouth wash.

He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall with a small moan at a sensation that swept through his belly and caused his head to throb slightly.

"Sorry," he managed in a raspy voice.

"It's fine. You get a one time pass as a guest," she told him. "If you were one of my brothers your nose would be bleeding by now. I suggest you take that as fair warning for next time." She had the gently yet threatening tone down to a science.

He gave a small smile and a single laugh, keeping his eyes shut. "Noted."

"You must be Harry then," she said, her voice drawing closer to him, but staying mercifully low.

"Must be."

"Here," she whispered.

He felt something being pressed into his hand and looked down to find Listerine. "Oh, I love you," he mumbled and struggled to take the lid off. Stupid child locking lids, he thought, I _am_ pressing both sides of the cap, just come off already!

He heard Ginny snickering by the sink.

"Stop it," he whined.

She came back over to him and took the bottle, removing the cap and handing it back to him. He took a swig and held the bottle back up for her. She put it down by the sink and held her hand out for him. "Come on you, let's get you to the sink so you can spit that out."

He took her offered hand and she helped him up, guiding him to it like the invalid that he currently felt. He spat the liquid out and felt much better. "Now just a shower and I should feel proper again."

"And some bacon grease," Ginny told him. "Something about that after a night out just seems to cure the hangover. That or cheesy chips before you pass out."

Food still wasn't feeling like the answer and he scrunched up his face into an expression that stated as much.

"Come now. The water should be right again. Need a hand getting naked? I can see you properly now, don't think I'd mind being of more assistance."

He looked at her through the mirror. She had put a pair of glasses on. He didn't know she needed glasses. They looked good on her, really suited her face. Her smirking and suggestive face. The rest of her was still only wrapped in a towel.

"I think I have the hang of it, maybe later," he told her with a small smirk of his own. She was most certainly trying to be funny. She and her brother wore the same expression when they were having a lark.

"I'll just make sure mum's got the coffee on for you then," she winked and went out.

Ginny wasn't in the kitchen when he'd got there. It was just Mrs. Weasley and Ron, whose head was resting down on the table. Harry was very glad he was past that point of the hangover already. A warm cup of coffee was pressed into his hands and he gave Mrs. Weasley a grateful smile and a kiss on the cheek for it.

"Where'd you wake up, mate?" he asked Ron. He hadn't heard anyone moving around upstairs since he'd gotten out of the shower, and no one had gone into the bathroom either.

"Chicken shed," he muttered into the table.

Harry had been about to take a seat beside him, but corrected course and moved to sit on the opposite side of the table. There was no reason he should be smelling that at this point in the day.

"Ginny told me you two met finally," Mrs. Weasley told him, setting down a plate laden with bacon, hash browns, sausages and egg.

It was entirely too much food for his sensitive stomach, but it smelled wonderful now. He'd just have to pace himself.

"We did. Forgot the no flushing rule and she was in the shower. She didn't punch me this time though."

"Oh, she wouldn't actually. You're a guest!" she dismissed.

Ron snorted into the table. "Yeah she would. Remember when… when… oh, it hurts too much. Tell you later."

Harry kept his chuckle quiet enough for Ron to not hear. "Anything you need me to help out with today?" he asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Lawn needs mowing. We've got the ride on, think you can manage?" she asked. Harry nodded. "Wonderful. The tent people are coming to set up this afternoon. Should only take you under an hour to get the full area. It's ten now, so you finish up your breakfast. Ginny's out in the barn, she'll show you where it is and getting started if it's being stubborn."

It was comforting for him to be treated like this by her, like another one of her brood. If he was told to simply sit around he'd just feel useless. He was used to keeping busy and wanted to help out. Ron wasn't looking like he was going to manage being of much use today, and the other Weasley boys were matching the groom shot for shot last night.

"Heyya," Harry stepped into the barn and found Ginny with a pitchfork throwing hay down from the loft. "Your mum wants me to use the ride on and get the grass dealt with." He checked around and saw a tractor and a smaller ride on mower beside it. "Do you know if it's got any petrol in it?"

"You'll have to check," she called down. "I only got in last night, don't know when it's been used. There should be a jerry under the back tyre."

"Were you somewhere on assignment?" he asked as he went around the machine.

"Chile," she told him, "spent the last three months there."

"I've read some of your stuff, you know," he found the jerry can and got the nozzle on it. "Kept my eye out for your name after Ron had told me you were on with the BBC. Like the way you tell it. You not getting on camera at all though?"

"Not interested in that," she said climbing down the ladder. "Was one of the things that I do to make my parents feel better about my job. Those that are on camera are more likely to be taken."

He started pouring the petrol into the mower. "How long are you home then?"

Ginny gave a shrug as she drew closer. "I'll be heading back to London after the wedding. I'll be at headquarters until I'm posted again. What about you?"

"Headed to London after the wedding as well. Taking a week extra of leave before I have to report in at Hampshire. I'll find out where I'm going and how long for then."

"Figure you're a lifer?"

"Dunno," he admitted. "Might be, but then when I see things like the way Ron has set his life up with Hermione it makes me wonder."

"Hmm, same," she popped the hood on the mower. He peaked under there with her to see what she was doing. "Making sure the battery terminals and spark plugs are all good," she told him. "I know that Christiane Amanpoor was able to be an international correspondent and have a full life, but sometimes I have to wonder how she managed it, or if it's for me."

"What's your back up?" he asked. His was to join Scotland Yard, but he wasn't sure how much longer he wanted to be in the service before putting that option into effect.

"Just getting a posting at a local paper, I guess. At least until print media goes under. Perhaps I could find a job on a show, coming up with story pitches and such. That might be fun."

"I'm thinking maybe four years," he said in thought. "I'll have put in several good years, but will still be young enough to settle down and get a family started with plenty of time left to enjoy them."

"You're a man though, you can keep cranking kids out into your eighties. My mum keeps writing me and reminding me that my clocks ticking. She had three kids by the time she was my age, and the twins were on the way." It all sounded more dubious than idyllic to her though.

"You're what? Twenty-two? Doesn't that mean there's a good thirteen years left before you have to start worrying?" he asked with a laugh. "Assuming you want kids anyhow?"

"I do. Eventually," she slammed the hood closed. "This is all set to go. You used one before?"

"No," he shrugged. "But I've done a tank, a motorcycle and a car. I think a lawn mower would be straight forward."

"Then onward you go, and I'll go gather some eggs."

He watched her walking out towards the chicken coop and hopped on the mower. She made a few trips back and forth to the house as he drove his way around the lawn, trying to make it so the grass showed nice lines; and succeeding.

The tent people showed up and then the table and chair delivery, then the linens, then Hermione and her other bridesmaids and Harry was set to work by all of them.

The men had all recovered properly after lunch and another nap and were thrown into the set-up as well. He exchanged pleasantries with some of the girls but kept seeing Ginny out of the corner of his eye, not getting the opportunity to chat with her anymore.

Once the tent and accompanying accoutrement were all dealt with it was early evening and they were all herded inside for dinner. Unfortunately, that was when Seamus showed up and brought that Dean guy along with him.

Harry had grabbed a seat at the table beside Ginny and the both of them gave a groan when Dean came in. He exchanged a chuckle with her at their synchronized disappointment.

"Not a fan of him already, eh?" she asked quietly. "You caught on that he was a ponce well faster than it took me. Good on you," she tipped her glass at him.

"To be fair to you, he looked alright until he opened his mouth."

She laughed into her glass and tried to recover as she put it back on the table. "I was also young, and he was my first boyfriend. I'm blaming it on naivete."

"Just glad you've learned really. Some people don't."

"Very true," she nodded and subtly tilted her head towards one of the other bridesmaids, Chartreuse, "she's been with her boyfriend for six years. All they do is fight, and not in the cute bickering way that Ron and Hermione do, where it ends in a scoff and a snog. Five quid says she leaves the wedding tomorrow in tears."

"Not taking that bet. You know these people better than I do."

"Alright then, I bet you that Ron mis-pronounces a word in his vows," she grinned.

Harry snickered at that. Hermione was well read, Ron probably would put something in his vows with adjectives that he wasn't familiar with to try and make himself not sound like a simple country boy. "I already know I'm going to lose that one, but there's a slight chance that he'll have practiced it and been corrected by now. I'm not going to make the bet for five quid though. It needs to be something more interesting than money."

Ginny nodded in thought. "Victors choice then?" she said with a glint in her eye, leaning towards him slightly.

Harry liked the sound of that. She seemed like she was being rather flirty with him then. He wondered if there would be any parameters to this bet, he certainly wouldn't mind if there were more racy prizes in store.

()()

The ceremony was beautiful and Ron mispronouncing the word 'undemonstrative' had Ginny giving Harry a wink. The reception was in full swing after dinner and speeches. Harry had a few glasses of wine and was alternating with water. He'd made the rounds and talked to several people, even got pulled onto the dance floor by one overly eager cousin of Hermione's who kept letting him know that she was single.

He had been looking for an out when he caught Ginny and Dean off in a corner and Ginny was rather red in the face with anger. Harry excused himself from the cousin and made his way over to them.

"You're just being a bitch," Dean said in a scornful hush.

"No, I am not. And I think you could do the whole of the female population a favor and start sucking cock. Immediately," Ginny told him back through gritted teeth.

"You didn't have any complaints about me fucking you back then."

"I am complaining now. You were shit at it, _both_ times. And I thank my lucky stars that I saw you for the piece of shit that you are when I did." It looked like she was about ready to take a swing at him if he said one more word to her.

"Hello," Harry jumped right in, "care to dance with me?" He put a hand gently on her clenched fist. "Probably wouldn't be a good idea to make a spectacle," he whispered to her.

Her eyes flashed at him with her anger before she glanced around and seemed to calm down a bit. Ginny took his hand and started tugging him towards the dance floor.

"Thank you," she said as she put her arms up on his shoulders. "You're right. He isn't worth Hermione yelling at me, no matter how much I wanted to kick him."

"Thought you took care of him pretty well verbally. Telling him to switch to sucking cock was one I hadn't heard before."

She snorted at that and rested her head on his chest, shaking slightly in laughter. He chuckled along with her and guided her around the dance floor. "Can we get some fresh air actually?" she asked. "I'm still a bit worked up."

"Sure," he let her go and she led the way out, heading over to the barn. Harry took a look around to see if there were any other people milling about, but there weren't any heading towards the farm side of the property.

"So, looks like I won the bet," Ginny said smugly.

"It does," he grinned. "What is the victor's choice?"

"Well," she started, "there is something I could do with, but I'm not sure if you're up for it?" Ginny cocked an eyebrow at him. There wasn't much light in the barn, but it was just enough to see her expression.

"Really?" he asked as smoothly as he could manage, trying to cool his excitement.

She shrugged. "Something about hooking up at weddings. You're leaving tomorrow, I'm leaving tomorrow. I know you're good friends with Ron and we'll probably wind up meeting again at some point down the line." She came forward and tugged on his tie. "Thought you might be up for a one-off though. Maybe?"

"Absolutely," he looked around. "In here?"

"Up there," she pointed up the ladder to the hayloft and headed straight for it.

Sex in a hayloft with the farmers daughter, Harry thought, well okay then.

By the time he'd climbed the ladder she'd lain down blankets over the hay and was shimmying down her knickers. If she wasn't going to be wasting any time, he wouldn't either. His hand went for his belt and he popped the button on his trousers.

"Don't take them all the way off," she said. "They'd likely fall below." She lay down and spread her legs for him.

"Fair warning," he told her. "It's been a while. If I disappoint I _will_ make it up to you."

Ginny chuckled, "duly noted. Now get down here."

He came to his knees between her legs and dropped his trousers and boxers, sliding his hands up the soft skin of her thighs and bringing her skirt up.

"Just shagging?" he asked.

Ginny hummed in agreement, "I could really do with a good fucking. It's been ages."

"Well, alright then."

He lay over her, stroking her entrance gently as she shifted her hips around to get used to the sensation. She was already wet and his dick twitched at how hot she was down there. Coming forwards he eased himself into her and took a tick to groan at how good it felt to be inside a woman again.

Ginny hummed in pleasure of being penetrated and started rocking against him. "Mmm, you've a good size one, haven't you?" she purred in his ear.

"Thanks, grew it myself," he retorted, building momentum with his thrusts.

She started snickering, but it turned to moans quickly. They were both done with talking. The only sounds in the barn was their panting and the slapping noise of him being buried completely inside her over and over again.

It wasn't taking him long to feel like his finish was around the corner. He switched from pumping in and out of her to grinding up against her in a way that would stimulate her clit. Her arms and legs clamped around him at that and her sighs grew louder. He loved hearing a girl get closer to cumming. And when they started fluttering and pulsing around his cock.

Ginny's head fell back and she arched up towards him, muffling her finish. Once she was properly clamped around him he started thrusting into her with determined vigor and was shortly groaning his own finish.

"You know," he panted, "that's exactly what I would have wanted if Ron _was _able to say undemonstrative."

Ginny started laughing, "good to know."

()()()

They wound up taking the same train the next morning back to London.

They'd gone back to the party last night and were each pulled in different directions, not seeing each other again until breakfast the following morning, then her dad gave them both a ride to the train station. They settled in seats beside each other for the journey, sharing their food and chatting easily about nothing and everything.

"So, do you have a place you're going to in London?" Ginny asked him.

"I have a few friends I can call on for a sofa to surf on, but I don't have a permanent place. No point having a place all to my own with my transient life-style," he explained. "I'm only in England for about a month of the year total. Was just going to report into the barracks early."

"And share a bunk room with five other smelly men for a week before you ship out again?"

Harry shrugged. It was the life he knew. "What about you then?"

"I've a flat. Well, sort of. I've an eccentric aunt who has an attic room that has a loo and a separate entrance, used to be servants quarters. It's an old house. I keep all my things there and she doesn't charge me for it. Just says it's 'coming out of my inheritance'," she chuckled.

"Was she at the wedding?"

"No, she's agoraphobic. Will only let a few into her house as well. She's lovely, but when she lost her husband a decade ago it was like she lost part of herself as well, went a bit strange."

"That's sad," he frowned.

"It was," Ginny sighed. "But she still carries on as best she knows how." Ginny considered him for a moment. "If you aren't keen on heading to the barracks early… I don't have a sofa, but the bed is big enough for two."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk. "What is it exactly you are suggesting there, Miss Weasley?"

Ginny snorted and picked up her coffee, "look, you and I get on perfectly well. So far, anyhow. I don't know about you, but the opportunity for a decent shag doesn't come up much in the field, well, any shag really. I'm suggesting that we try and 'take off the edge' for the next few days and then carry on with our merry lives."

Harry found the idea extremely appealing. If they were both in another walk of life then perhaps there could be something more to this, but with him going to one side of the world, and she the other, a few days in the company of this bright and down to earth, and sexy as hell, farm girl sounded like the perfect vacation before real life started up again.

"I am absolutely all for that idea."

()()()

**March 2003**

Harry was laying in the medic tent and thinking pleasant thoughts about those six days he'd managed to get with Ginny in her small room in London. It was where his mind went when he had down time, and laying here wrapped in bandages and waiting to be told he could leave constituted down time.

She'd had to work during the days that he was there, but it gave him time to sit around and watch her telly and just be alone stretched out on a proper sized bed between runs. Then when she'd come home they'd head out for some take away and spend the evenings seeing how many times they could make each other cum.

It had been brilliant.

That was eight months ago now and he felt an ache for her intermittently since then.

"Alright, Potter," the medic came over. "You were damn lucky you weren't any closer to that I.E.D. You've a few scrapes on you, you'll need to keep the bandages on and re-apply them after every wash. Two weeks of anti-biotics and Polysporin. You can stop wearing the bandages after a week, but you're on light duties until you're done the pills, understood?"

"Yeah, got it," he sat up carefully. His chest and forearm had taken the brunt of the shrapnel and it smarted to move too much, but it was a manageable pain.

He made his way straight for the mess hall, frowning at the pain. He heard someone rushing his direction from behind, their footsteps slowing as they approached him. His frown settled further as he waited for some inane questions or razing to come from one of the fellow helpmates.

"Hey there, soldier," came the lightly chiding voice he hadn't heard in so long.

His steps faltered and he turned sharply towards her, staring at her dumbstruck and wondering what else was in those pills he'd just been given.

Ginny was beaming up at him, kitted out in her own camo, but with her fiery red hair hanging down at her shoulders rather than pulled back tightly, as was regulation. It was much shorter than it had been eight months ago.

"Saw you leaving the medic tent and heard you'd gotten injured," she lightly pulled open his shirt to peer at the bandages.

"You're here," he stated, still astounded to see her.

"I just got re-assigned, but I'm really just passing through. I hoped you were here too, was asking around for you."

"It is so good to see you!" he exclaimed. "I'd give you a hug, but I've only had an hour or two since I was nearly blown apart," he joked darkly.

"I understand," her grin wavering and concern flashing in her eyes. "Where were you headed? Anywhere you could use some company?"

"Food," he said shortly. "How long are you here for? What are you working on?"

"Only here for a few nights. Grabbing a few lifestyle stories from the men and women at arms, then I'm off to Syria with the Women's Protection Units," she told him quickly. "Think they'll allow me in the mess? Food sounds great right now."

He showed her the way and they exchanged a few stories of what they'd run into since they'd seen each other last. He had a few new scars and so did she. There was a small one that was just above her left eyebrow that wasn't too pronounced. He'd only noticed it because he was doing a thorough study of her face, memorizing it again to get him through to the next time he might see her again.

"Anyone else in your unit get injured?" she asked as they left the mess.

"No, thank God. I was the one closest. Felt like getting hit with a ton of bricks, which I essentially was. They were able to get me back here quickly, and I wasn't harmed too badly."

"Very lucky."

They walked silently beside each other for a stretch. He was still reeling from seeing her again. He might not have run into her at all if that bomb hadn't gone off.

"The, um, the rest of my unit is out," he said uncertainly as they drew closer to his team's quarters. He felt his neck heating up from something other than the sun as her eyes turned to him.

"Oh really?" she grinned. "And about how long would you say it'll be until they're back?"

He cleared his throat, "probably a few hours."

"We'll have to be pretty careful about it," she smirked.

"Yeah?" he asked brightly.

"Of course, if you can't even accept a hug from me," she stated as though it was obvious.

Harry sighed and looked skyward for a moment. "I was referring to the-"

"I knew what you meant, Harry," she laughed. "I was just being a little shit."

He led the way to his quarters, trying not to speed walk the rest of the way. It was difficult to get in so much as a private wank when you're in a room with five other guys so the prospect of having an actual shag whilst having the room to themselves was amazing.

Ginny was very gentle with him as she helped get his shirt off, telling him to lay down while she took charge of the situation.

"Fair warning," she said before removing more than her shirt. "I haven't had time for proper grooming for about a month, so you'll either have to just deal with that, or I can lay beside you for a cuddle."

"You could look like the fawn from Narnia below the waist and I couldn't give any less shits than I already do," he told her honestly.

She bit her lip and her shoulders shook slightly with laughter, "just too eager for it?"

"Hell yes! You were the last shag I had. That's about six cat years," he stated and gestured to how he was already forming a rather large tent in his boxer briefs. "And I haven't had much of a time for a shave either."

"Fair enough," she pulled off her trousers, knickers dropping at the same time and ambled to sit astride him.

Her hand went to his erection to slide up and down it over the cotton fabric and his fingers on his non-injured hand went to her, working her over with a mixture of fast and slow movements to get her properly wet while she hummed satisfactorily over him.

"Been a while for you too?" he asked with pleasure, watching her grind against his fingers.

"Hmm, you were it," she admitted with a soft smile on her face, eyes closed and simply enjoying herself.

He twitched in her hand at that and she pulled him free of the cloth, carefully lowering herself down on him. He let out a long, satisfied groan at the feel of being pulled inside her. His hands came to her thighs and she braced herself upright, leaning back slightly and holding onto his knees for leverage as she started to ride him.

"God, you're so deep like this," she panted.

He was torn between keeping his eyes open and watching the sight of her riding him and closing his eyes to focus on how good it felt to be buried so deep inside her again. Either way it didn't feel like it was going to take him long.

He moved his good hand back to her clit and started rubbing her there.

Too soon they were both recovering. She had gotten dressed again and was laying down beside him, keeping a bit of distance so she didn't accidentally tug on any of his bandages.

She filled him in on what was going on back home with her family and carrying on about this and that at the BBC, stroking his forehead until he fell asleep.

It was dark by the time the sound of the closing door shocked him awake. Ginny was gone, it was just his bunk mates that were coming back from shift.

"Hey mate, alright?" one of them asked.

"Yeah, I'll recover soon enough. On light duties for now," he looked around for any sign that Ginny had been there, only coming up with how he was currently feeling very relieved below the belt.

"Look, some gorgeous bird gave me this to give you. Said she knew you from home and didn't have time to drop it off. Was on her way to the air base."

Harry took the note and blinked the sleep out of his eyes to focus on the words there;

_Harry,_

_Looks like my 'few days' turned into a 'few hours'. Luckily, I managed to talk to a fair few of the men and women for my article before finding you earlier. Recover well. Hope we cross paths again soon. Keep your head down._

_x, Ginny_

()()()

**June 2004**

He wasn't at all sure that this was a good idea. It had been over a year since he'd seen her last, but he was already here. The least he could do was drop a line to her agoraphobic aunt and leave the letter for her that he'd written up on the plane back.

He was on leave for a month before he was signed up to deploy again.

Two more years of duty. That's what he'd promised himself.

He hadn't been hurt again since the last time he'd seen her. Not physically anyhow, mentally… well, he might think about joining a group when he got out of the service, just so he could talk about some of what he'd seen and get it off his chest.

This month back he wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do to fill his time. He wanted to get out to visit with Ron and check in on him. Maybe offer to help out on the Weasley farm if they could use the help, give Mr. & Mrs. Weasley a bit of a break. They had said he was always welcome, and he was sure that they meant it.

He and Ginny hadn't exchanged letters or e-mails or anything. But he was sure that this companionship, or whatever it was, between them went beyond the need for letters.

Save for the one in his hand.

He just wanted her to know that he thought of her. That he'd been grateful for the small amount of time they'd spent together. That he hoped she was alright.

He went up to the main door, hoping that her Aunt Muriel wouldn't be too scared to answer the door. He didn't know much about agoraphobics. As he raised his hand to knock though he heard his name from behind him.

She was there. Wearing a simply dress at the open gate to the walk. Her lovely hair now hanging down to just past her breasts in soft waves. Her eyes were wide and puffy, it looked like she'd been crying.

Her dress was black.

"Ginny?" he breathed out.

"You're here," she whispered.

From their distance he could see her sucking in a shaky breath, her chin warbling slightly.

At a rapid pace he strode down the stairs toward her and wrapped his arms around her. Her knees gave out in his arms and he held her tight as she cried into his chest.

"Who?" he asked quietly after a minute.

"A friend," she sniffled.

He stroked her hair and hugged her tighter while she composed herself. She pulled back and took him by the hand, leading him over to the stairs to her own entrance. Once they were inside, she sat down on the bed and kicked off her shoes, he went to put the kettle on.

Everything was exactly where it had been the last time he'd stayed there two years ago. It was all familiar to him, even though it had only been for a little bit that he'd stayed there.

"His name was Colin," she told him quietly as they sat back against her pillows, each with a hot tea in their hands. "He was a photographer. It was all just right place, wrong time," she shook her head sadly. "We'd done a few trips together. He was so energetic and talented. And young." She turned her head to look at Harry directly, "he was my age. And you know what? I haven't even told my parents or brothers that I'm back in the country. Because then I'd have to tell them why, and I just don't think I could deal with them using this as another reason I should start on a 'safer' career."

Harry set their mugs down on her table and gathered her up in his arms again. They lay down together and he just held her close. He too had lost a few that he'd grown close to over the years. There wasn't anything that you could say, he just wanted her to know that he was there for her to talk to if she needed.

By morning time he was absolutely starving.

He'd arrived mid-afternoon and the only thing he'd ingested was the few sips of tea. The two of them fell asleep just after tea-time, now his eyes were scouring her bookshelf-made-pantry for anything instant; cereal, bread, anything.

His belly gave a rumble and he winced at how loud it seemed.

Carefully detangling himself from how he'd been spooning her, he turned over and drank down his ice-cold tea that had been left unfinished.

"That can't taste good," Ginny muttered sleepily.

"It did not," he agreed.

She rolled over and opened her eyes, looking him over in his rumpled clothes with a soft smile, "you're here."

"I'm here," he said fondly, enjoying the sight of her. "And I'm starving."

Ginny sat up and gave a stretch, "there're crumpets and a cream-cheese spread in the mini," she pointed to the small fridge. "There's also a good greasy-spoon diner down the way. We could get the Full-English."

Harry groaned in pleasure at the thought, "a Full-English breakfast sounds fantastic." He got up and went to his rucksack, pulling out a fresh change of clothes to change into, not bothering to head to the other room before pulling his shirt off followed by trousers; she'd seen him naked before.

He got a full view of her too when she pulled her dress over her head, his eyes settled on a scar on her shoulder though and he came up to her to examine it closer. "Did you get shot?!" he asked incredulously, coming around to stand in front of her and check the other side to see if it had the same sized wound.

Her jaw set as she stared at him with a blazing look, she seemed ready to defend her life choices to him, but as their eyes met the ferocity melted away. She must have realized he wouldn't react like her family about it. She was there just after he'd nearly been blown up and hadn't said a word against it.

"I was in Columbia," she explained, "it was a through and through. Felt like I'd been bitten or something, then I looked down and saw all the blood." Her eyebrows knit together. "Is the scar ugly?" she asked wearily.

"No," he told her softly and leaned down to give it a kiss, then did the same to her shoulder.

She hugged him close again. "I'm so glad you're here."

"I'm so glad I could be here for you."

It was a full week of everything between them picking up right how it left off. Like two best friends that simply enjoyed the pleasure of each-others flesh. She was working from London for a few months before she would be sent abroad again and assured him that he was welcome to stay at hers for his month-long break.

He's promised Ron he'd visit though and wound up staying at the Weasley Farm for two-weeks, helping out. Ron had a kid now, with another on the way and spent any time they had together raving about how great his life was going, encouraging him to get out and get settled as well. Ginny came out on the weekends and they spent those nights in each-others beds.

He spent his last week back at her flat as well.

"This thing we're doing?" he started a few nights before he was set to leave, "what is it? To you?" He'd wanted to know what exactly this was between them. He knew they were friends, but he wouldn't call them lovers, not really. They may have just had a spectacular and slow shag and were currently laying naked in her bed with just the top sheet over their lower halves. But he still didn't know what to call her, what she was to him. Besides the most important person in his life right then.

"We're…,' she searched for the words, "keeping each other company."

He nodded solemnly, "and that's it?"

"That's really all we can offer each other right now, isn't it?" she asked sadly. "You're going back to Afghanistan soon, I'm going to be put on assignment somewhere again as well. We don't know when or if we'll ever see each other again."

"Hmm, and I thought I was bringing the mood down with my girlie question."

She gave him a light back-handed slap to the middle of his chest. "It's true though. With the way our lives are, putting any more pressure on us by labelling it would just ruin whatever this is that we have."

"Yeah, I know," he said quietly and stretched out for her to curl up against his side.

She cuddled up against him and started tracing the lines of white scars on his chest. "I do miss you when we're apart though," she said softly and kissed his chest.

"I miss you too."

()()()

**May 2005**

Harry stood at the top of the hill looking down at the Weasley Farmhouse. He loved the sight of it. It was homey and warm and full of the best people.

It was the third place he'd gone as soon as he'd gotten released.

Honorably Discharged.

He'd been back in the country for a few weeks now, but he'd been in the army infirmary until yesterday.

His first course of action was to get himself cleaned up. He went to the barbers and got a clean shave, then he went to see her at her place. Only she wasn't there.

He'd heard from Ron that she'd been reassigned and was permanently in the country now. Just like him.

When she didn't answer the door he'd taken a peak inside and saw that it was mostly cleared out. Her aunt had seen him through the window and yelled at him. He gave Muriel a quick explanation for his visit and was told where she'd gone.

And it was here.

She was there in the farmhouse with her parents. Her new assignment had her working part time from home. This home. She had moved back to help her parents with the farm. Her dad was getting older and arthritic, her mum had a slew of grandbabies that she was helping out with for childcare while their parents worked.

He didn't know if she was still single though. That wasn't something he could bring himself to ask her aunt, or her brother.

He didn't really care though. He knew what he was going to do as soon as he saw her. It was the only thing that he'd been able to think of the whole time he was in recovery.

He was perfectly fine now. He'd just been stuck laying down for a while in order to let the… area, heal. He blushed now and shook his head at himself over his injury.

He started down the lane to the house, tugging reassuringly at his rucksack. Telling himself over and over again that it was all going to work out just fine. Even if she didn't want to be with him for real, her family would still want him around, and he could figure out how to be _just_ her friend.

He had nearly made it to the porch when the door flew open and she was running at him, her eyes bright and smile beaming as she jumped into his arms and he kissed her. He hadn't planned on full-on snogging her the second he got close enough, but he'd been dreaming of this moment over and over again for nearly a year.

They stayed like that, clutching each other as close as possible, lip-locked, until there was a cough from the porch.

"I'll just assume that _this_ was the reason you wouldn't meet anyone I suggested," Mrs. Weasley commented to her daughter with her hands on her hips and an amused smile at the pair of them.

"Yes, mum. This is the reason," Ginny told her, her eyes never pulling away from his.

"How long have you been here?" Harry asked her, tugging on a lock of her hair from her ponytail.

"Since Christmas," she said.

"And you've been waiting for me?" he asked, the biggest grin coming to his face. He'd hoped and prayed for as much. Ginny's blush was answer enough. "I'm glad."

"It isn't against the rules or anything?" she asked quietly, so that her mum didn't hear.

"No. Ginny, I'm done," he said.

"Done?" she asked, moving to pull back from him.

He tugged her back against him, "done with the army," he explained. "I've been honorably discharged. I'm here to stay."

She blinked at him, "why? What happened?"

He cast a weary and embarrassed look at Mrs. Weasley and leaned forward to whisper in Ginny's ear.

Ginny laughed loudly and pulled her head back to look at him properly, "like Forrest Gump?!"

Harry winced at the comparison. No doubt Mrs. Weasley knew exactly what had happened to him now. "Yes," he sighed, "like Forrest Gump. It was enough of an injury that they asked if I wanted to stay on or leave. I chose leave," he looked at her seriously, "I chose you."

"You want to be with me? Really be with me?" she beamed and drew her forehead up to press against his, her brown eyes shining behind her glasses.

"More than that," he said shakily, fishing in his pocket. "I suppose I'm meant to talk to your father first, but… Ginny there's no one else, you're it for me. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He pulled out the ring that had been his mothers. The one that he'd carried around with him in his rucksack since he'd first joined the army.

Mrs. Weasley gasped from the porch, but Ginny was just looking down at the diamond and emerald ring before her at a complete loss for words.

Fear grew in Harry's stomach as the time stretched out between them.

Finally, she looked back up at him, "You're really here, aren't you?"

"From now on, I promise," he swore to her.

She took the ring from him and slid it on her finger, pulling him back down for a kiss to seal it.

**()()()**

**AN- Wasn't sure about him proposing at the end, but I wasn't about to 'Dear John' him either.**


	19. Conception Accomplished

**AN- This is an outtake from Chameleon, taking place somewhere in between the jumps in the Epilogue. Crossing off the 'Pregnancy' tile on the Bingo Smut Card.**

**()()()**

**Conception Accomplished**

**()()()**

It just never freaking ended. There was always more around the house that kept piling up on her to do list. There never seemed to be this much housework before they had James. When it was just the two of them were there always that many dust bunnies under the bed? Did they go through this much laundry every week?

And how was there that much laundry when she felt like she was wearing the same clothes every day? This bra for example, she was sure that this was the same bra she wore yesterday, she'd just pulled it off last night and then picked it up off the floor this morning and pulled it back on.

Maybe it was too soon for her to have gone back to work.

Urgh! She was so confused and busy and tired.

James was one year old now. He was going to a Ministry run daycare and she could pop out and see him any time on her breaks, Harry too. James had other kids to play with and he was learning more from the other kids development than she would have been able to teach him by herself. She'd learned loads from her brothers, mostly new words her mum didn't want her to learn, but still.

She wasn't on regular Auror duties yet either, she was stuck training the new recruits and doing paperwork incessantly.

It wasn't like any of the missions she'd ever been on in New Zealand were as extreme as the one's she'd done elsewhere; they were just at odd hours. If she and Harry could get on different schedules then they'd be able to make it work with the daycare so one of them was there for pick-up time. Although, that would mean less time with Harry _and_ James, so it wouldn't really be worth it. She'd just be feeling guilty.

Now it was the weekend though, and she was running around their three-bedroom house picking up all the accumulation of laundry that was _everywhere_. How do James' onesie's even get behind the television? She'd tried a few times to simply summon the laundry to collect in one spot, but it hadn't turned out very well. Apparently, a pair of jeans was heavy enough to knock over quite a few things on a nightstand.

"James is down for his nap," Harry said deeply as he came up behind her.

"Wonderful, thank you," she deadpanned. Putting James down for a nap was not a difficult task, the kid loved sleeping.

Harry started running his hands down her sides, undeterred by her attitude, he was used to the way it swung back and forth and knew she was easily pulled out of her moods. Generally, if he kissed her neck she would lean back against him and give in to his pawing, if he dipped his hand under her trousers she'd get hot for him almost immediately.

"Harry," she slouched her shoulders, "there is so much work to do." It came out much more whiny than she'd wanted it too, but there was something else nagging at her mind that she'd been putting off telling him for a few days. In her defense though, she'd only confirmed it just yesterday.

"Ginny," he purred, trying to entice her.

"How about this," she started into him, "I'll drop my panties as soon as I'm done picking up your socks?" She turned around in his arms, him stepping back to accommodate the distance needed for the laundry hamper in her arms.

Harry pouted, but took note. "What would you like me to tackle?" he asked with a defeated look.

"Thank you," she sighed. "Can you get the kitchen dealt with? Need dishes done, fridge wiped down, inside and out, and then counter surfaces and floors."

"Then you'll let me in your knickers?" he waggled his eyebrows at her.

Ginny rolled her eyes in response, a smile fighting its way onto her face, and continued to their second bathroom/laundry. Setting the hamper down on the sink she blew a big breath out, puffing out her cheeks. This wasn't a hard task or anything. Laundry basically did itself, the collecting and the folding was the time-consuming part. It was just because she was _so_ tired.

All the time.

It had been the same thing last time. The first few months she'd been ridiculously exhausted, then she was fine in the middle, and waddling everywhere at the end of it. And horny. There were a few months there where she was just ridiculously horny. Harry had been all for it, what guy wouldn't be? It hadn't even bothered him that she had this enormous belly that got in the way of their usual positions. He'd taken that as more of a challenge, and spent time getting extra good at using his tongue.

He wanted more kids too. If it was up to him they'd have four or five. She didn't want that though; two would be enough of a disruption to their lifestyle.

She'd been worried enough about having James.

She loved him, don't get her wrong. Every now and then she'd have what Harry had dubbed her 'Squee' moments, where she'd simply snatch their little boy into her arms and hug him close while she showered him with kisses and declared how much she loved her 'favorite little mister'.

She and Harry were still strong with their relationship and marriage, at least from her perspective. He was still pawing at her and telling her he loved her anyhow. And they talked and carried on plenty.

Their life in New Zealand was great; they were surrounded by friends and pseudo family. Their England relatives visited once or twice a year as well, that kept Harry very happy. They were even due to head back there themselves for a week during their winter to get some of the lovely England summer.

Oh, Ginny realized. They were supposed to take a portkey to get back, but women in her condition weren't supposed to use portkey's.

Dumping the contents of the hamper into the washing machine she turned the dial to cold wash and headed to the kitchen.

"Harry," she called his attention, "we need to book a flight to get back to England for our holiday." This would be a good enough way to tell him. Last time she simply handed him a Father's Day card, it had taken him a moment to understand.

"Why?" he asked, not removing his head from the ice box and putting the items with-in on the counter. "It takes forever to fly. James might not enjoy his first international portkey, but he'll like it a hell of a lot better than being stuck in a tin can for a full day."

"Well, maybe then the two of you could take the portkey, and I'll fly back."

He looked over at her then, "why on earth would you want to fly for a day when you could be there in a minute?"

Ginny bit the corner of her mouth and raised her eyebrows at him, silently asking that he connect the dots himself. When his brow furrowed and he looked more incredulously at her, she realized he wasn't figuring it out. Her hands moved down to just below her bellybutton in the signature 'pregnant woman' pose, then she saw the light dawning in his eyes.

"Really?!" he grinned.

Ginny bit the bottom of her lip as her small smile was growing into a grin. She loved seeing Harry like this, all amazed and ecstatic. He left the ice box door open as he came to gather her up in his arms.

"You're pregnant? You're sure?" he asked desperately.

"I made the potion yesterday to check because I was so late," she told him. "It confirmed it."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" he asked immediately.

Ginny barked out a laugh, "you know that's not what it does!" He'd asked her the same thing last time with James. The pregnancy potion only told a witch if she was pregnant, not the gender. It wouldn't have been decided yet anyhow, the fetus would be barely a blob at the moment with no defined gender.

Harry didn't look like he even cared. He was just grinning down at her and running his hands all over her back and stomach. "Is that why your breasts have looked so fantastic lately?" he asked, moving her back against the wall. His eyes had gone that dark lustful shade they did when he was really turned on. She could feel him hardening against her pelvis.

"Was there something wrong with my breasts before you knocked me up again?" she asked, knowing he loved her body no matter what.

He hummed and lowered his head to her neck, nuzzling her there. "They're always fantastic, but for the last bit they've been calling at me from across crowded rooms." His hands wandered down to cup her bum and hoist her up so she'd wrap her legs around his waist.

He tugged her shirt down and lowered his head to bury his face in her bosom. "Hello ladies," he spoke directly to her breasts.

Ginny shook with laughter. He'd had entire conversations with her breasts a few times over the years. She didn't understand his fascination with them. Perhaps when she was breastfeeding James still, because they'd gotten rather larger, but now they were back to their normal size, they were simply a bit perkier because of her situation.

"Oh, eager to be of more use again, are you?" he carried on talking to 'the girls'. "What was that? Oh, you are a cheeky one, aren't you?" he raised his head up and gave Ginny his devilish eyed smile. "Looks like you will have to take off your shirt. They're rather desperate for some attention." He didn't wait for Ginny to say anything, he pulled her away from the wall and walked her over to the couch, gently easing her back onto the cushions and tugging her shirt up over her head, all before she could make any protest. He'd grown into a master of getting her out of her kit.

"Harry," she started.

"Shh, I'm helping," he snapped the latch on her bra open and lay her down flat, climbing over her and lowering his mouth between the valley in her chest.

Ginny rolled her eyes. While she did like that Harry would get like this from time to time, she was still torn between the amount of clean-up still left to do around the house and wanting him to carry on with his enjoyment. If she pushed him away though he would simply pout and paw at her all day. She merely raised her arms above her head and let him have his way with her.

All thoughts of protest left her head when he popped the button on her shorts and his hand went into her knickers. Harry could do whatever he wanted to her chest, so long as he kept up stroking and rubbing her between her legs. He'd grown to be a master of that over the years as well.

"Ah, fuck," she arched her back when he rubbed a hard circle over her clit.

"Mmm, if you insist," he smirked before sucking one of her nipples into his mouth, releasing it with an audible 'pop' and pulling back to shed his clothes.

He'd been keeping on top of his workouts, no visible ab lines, just enough for chasing down the bad guys and giving it to her nearly every night for what felt like hours sometimes. She pulled her own shorts and knickers off right before he climbed back over her.

"Think it was that night? After Jake's barbeque?" he asked as he spread her legs and pushed himself into her.

"Mmm, could have been," she said, figuring out the right movement to work with the cushions and get everything feeling just right. "Roughly a month ago," she managed before gasping when he hit a spot deep inside her that had her wondering if that felt good or painful, it was hard to tell.

He changed up his rhythm to grind into her. Ginny's eyes rolled back at the feeling of him pressed up against her clit while his dick twirled around inside of her. He knew this was the most direct way to get her off, and she knew that it meant he wanted to get her quickly so there was less chance they'd be interrupted.

"Hmm, that was a good night," he groaned as he enjoyed the way she was responding to him. "I got mine twice that night."

It was a rare occasion that she managed to get him twice, it was always a nice surprise when it happened, but usually required some tantric level activities to accomplish. It being the case then, that probably was the night she got knocked-up.

"Yeah," was all she could manage in response.

He pulled out of her and quickly slunk down her body, latching his mouth to her clit and going to town on her until she was rocking against him desperately and coming apart in his arms.

"Good girl," he grinned devilishly. He barely gave her a moment of recovery before pulling her to the floor with him and bending her over the side of the couch.

Ginny gave a girlish giggle as she braced herself, spreading her legs for him. She liked it when he simply manipulated her into the way he wanted, like she was simply his sex doll and he was on a mission. They were both on their knees and using the couch for support as he slid back into her from behind and started pumping into her with only his finish in mind.

Ginny hadn't been able to get off from this position, but it felt incredible regardless. He was giving it to her hard and fast; 'fucking' was really the only term that could be applied to this one. She tried to muffle her groans, pulling over one of the pillows to bury her face it.

Harry wasn't much of a dirty talker during sex, but she knew he loved to hear how much she appreciated what he was doing to her. Her loud cries were simply his encouragement to give it to her as hard and fast as he wanted. His hands were gripping her hips, then they moved up to her shoulders, finally coming to clutch at the back cushions on the couch, locking her into place beneath him until he cried out.

Ginny reached around and patted him on the side, "good job," she said jokingly.

His shudder of laughter was felt against her back and inside her until he slipped out and fell back onto the floor.

"Ow," his hands came up to his knees, which were rather red. "I'm so glad we can fix this quickly. I don't know how the Muggle's do it."

"Knee pads," Ginny joked and climbed up onto the couch properly to rub her own knees. She looked down at him. "Happy?" she asked, not referring to the sex.

He gave her a dopey smile, "so happy."

()()()


	20. Chairs and Desks

**AN- Muggle AU. Prompt is 'Inadvisable Position'.**

**()()()**

**Chairs and Desks, Really Anywhere in the Office is Bad**

**()()()**

The walls around his office were very thin.

It hadn't been a problem before, but now there were two women in the office beside him sharing, and talking. The one woman had a voice that would probably cut through the wall even if there were sound proofing material in the wall. She was so incredibly loud and irritating.

Usually he could just pop his headphones on, but they were acting up on him then and he had to listen to his virtual training course through his speakers instead, which meant he was hearing snippits of their conversation over his course information.

See, _he_ had been keeping in mind his wall neighbors and trying not to have everyone suffering through the droll of the instructors voice. Something that maybe the loud woman should have taken note of.

If only he had actually manned up and gone over there to let her know that she was being interruptive and to please keep it down. He could have gone to the office manager to request that an office-wide memo be sent out about office volume decorum and such, but that seemed weak. He could have maybe slipped a note under their door before he left late one night, but that seemed weak as well.

He was simply too shy to go over there and ask them to keep it down.

This woman would carry on incessantly about her kids, what she got up to outside of work and comment on every little thing she heard in the media. The other one, the one that may or may not have made his heart flutter at the sight of, she seemed to be a little aware of her volume. He'd heard her talking in the staff kitchen, she could easily be loud, but in the office next to his he had only heard minor rumblings of reply's to her office mate.

He could remember the day they'd been introduced for the first time vividly.

The company had occupied a few floors of the tower they ran out of, but there had been an amalgamation and one of the floors had been put into disuse, moving the workers from that floor onto his own. He'd been staying in his office and out of the chaos on 'moving day', only vaguely registering the extra traffic walking past his door.

Until it was time for his mid-morning tea.

Jordan, the office manager stopped him on the way back to his office to introduce the new neighbors. Harry had seen them in the lift before, the redhead at least, she rather stood out.

It wasn't that he was crap with women, he'd been dating since he was fourteen, he was just rather particular, not one to be found perusing the online dating site's. He had always preferred a sort of 'meet cute' moment.

And he wasn't sure if this qualified.

She'd been standing there with a bankers box full of her personal effects from her former desk three floors below, her bright brown eyes twinkling, her gorgeous red hair hanging down perfectly, a light sheen from a lip gloss or something making her lips look absolutely wonderful. He knew she smelled good as well. He'd had the pleasure of riding a packed lift with her once and she was forced to stand rather close to him for five floors. Her perfume smelled faintly of vanilla.

Ginny Weasley, that was her name.

Now he got to see it every day when he passed by that office. Ginny Weasley, Administrative Assistant, working alongside the loud one, Penelope Clearwater.

It had been two months ago that they moved into the office beside him and he still hadn't managed to initiate a conversation with Ginny.

She had with him though. A few times he'd been pulled into a group of people in the kitchen by her that were chatting about certain aspects of the business or news. She'd even touched his forearm three times. She'd smiled at him numerous times as well, all with out any reason behind it.

Urgh, he was sad and pathetic. Seeing her was beginning to be the highlight of his days and he couldn't manage to ask her out, preferring to simply hold her up on this pedestal of unattainability. Even now he was supposed to be paying attention to the slideshow on his monitor and listening to the commentary on his speakers, yet he could hear the quiet rumbling that was Ginny's voice, not able to make out what she was saying, just being distracted enough by it and straining his ears to try and make out her words.

She must have been on the phone, Penelope didn't seem to be responding to her at all and Penelope was not one to sit quietly and let someone else own the conversation.

Harry gave himself a shake. He gripped his pen and started focusing on his training, taking notes as he went along.

Until his pen ink dried out.

He checked his first desk drawer, then another one, then looked around at every surface in his office and, for some reason, the floor, but there weren't any other pens anywhere.

How in the fuck did he not have spare pens laying about?

The company had cheaped out on the pens that sported their logo and he'd been going through them with alarming speed. They had only lasted for about a week before they were chucked into the bin in frustration, but he could have sworn there were more laying about.

He got up from his desk, intending to head to the supply cupboard. It was right on the other side of her office and gave him a direct view of her at her desk. Maybe she would hear him there and turn around to give him one of her smiles?

He pursed his lips slightly at that pathetic thought. He really needed to get out more.

Opening the metal cupboard door he saw her ginger hair was down again today and had a nice curl at the end. Penelope's office chair was indeed sitting empty, but it looked like Ginny was on the phone, and it did not sound like a work call.

He really hoped it wasn't a work call anyhow.

"Yeah, I'm fucking MacGyver over here," she chuckled, then gave a sigh. "You know, I would fuck MacGyver. Can you imagine how creative that guy would be when it comes to sex? He can make a bomb out of a paperclip and a match stick, just think of what he could do with-" she paused, "uh, you know what? I've got to go. Talk to you later."

Harry had been frozen staring at a box of pens at eye level while he listened, knowing that it was probably his presence that stopped her carrying on about exactly how well MacGyver would have been able to give it to her. Quickly he grabbed a handful of the company's shitty pens so it wouldn't look like he was eavesdropping and shut the cabinet door, giving a small startle to see her standing there on the other side with a small blush across her cheeks.

"Hi," she smiled nervously. "Sorry about, um, if you overheard that conversations. I know we aren't supposed to be making private calls during work hours."

"What?" he asked in confusion. "I don't care about that."

"Oh good," she visibly relaxed. "It's just that Penelope is really strict about it, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention anything."

His brow furrowed in confusion, "she can carry on endlessly and loudly about her kids and the crap that goes on in the media, but you can't talk on your phone for five minutes?"

Ginny gave a chuckle. "She really never shuts up, does she?" Ginny shook her head and gave a sigh. "Well, thanks then." She turned to go back to her desk.

"What's your secret then?" he asked boldly, coming to lean against her door frame in an attempt to get more comfortable speaking around her.

"My secret?" she asked, taking a seat and spinning her chair around to face him.

"Yeah, for, you know, getting your work done and tuning her out. I've got a headset on normally, but it's busted. You though, you're forced to sit here and listen to her ramble on."

"Oh!" she bit her lip and gave a small laugh. "Well, I've got a lot of siblings. My house was crazy loud growing up, suppose I'm simply used to having the chatter going on."

"You've a lot of siblings?" he latched onto that detail. "I've only the one, but she was plenty loud. Suppose I'd need at least…" he was guessing here, "two more?" he took a stab at her number of siblings.

"Plus three," she corrected wryly.

Harry dropped the pens in shock, then immediately felt stupid, dropping down to a crouch to bashfully pick them up. Ginny didn't seem surprised by his reaction, instead she simply helped him pick up the pens.

"I get that a lot," she chuckled. "Seven of us total growing up."

"That does sound loud. Is that the whole reason you were chosen to share with her? Because you were the only one trained to take it?" As she handed him the pens she collected he realized he was basically on his knee's in front of her while she sat in her office chair. It would look mighty suggestive to anyone that could walk by her office then. Giving a small cough he stood up, having to immediately take a step back to stand an appropriate distance away from her then.

Ginny was sporting a rather mirth filled expression at him. "I'm not going to say I'm the _only_ one they could think of that wouldn't stab her in the eye with a number two pencil, but I'm certain I was in the top five," she said quietly.

Harry's shoulders shook a bit from the contained laughter, "so you didn't volunteer for it."

"No," she answered firmly. "It looks like she might be going on business trips more regularly though. Thank God."

"Wow, what are you going to do with all that freedom?" he joked.

"Oh, it'll be marvelous," she emphasized by spinning around in her office chair. "I'll be able to eat snacks at my desk, text my friends back _immediately_, pop in my own headphones and listen to music quietly. It'll be great."

"Well," he shifted on his feet a bit, "suppose I'll just get back to my training seminar and leave you to your freedom."

"Wait," she turned away from him and opened her desk drawer, turning back with about five pens. "Use these, those one's are crap."

"Oh!" he took them from her graciously. "Thank you! They are crap, and I never remember to pick any different one's up when I'm out and about." He looked at the length of them, they were advertising a grocery store. "The W's Co-op?" he asked.

"My mum and dad's shop back home," she explained. "It's the only grocers in our little town, but their pens work perfectly."

"Thank you," he grinned, "really. I'm sure they're ten times better."

He went back to his office, wishing he could have simply stayed with Ginny and chatted more about anything. Absolutely anything.

()()()

There were so many songs written about Friday nights. Too many, and every time he thought too much about how great it was that it was currently a Friday, inexplicably, one of those songs would get stuck in his head.

Right now it was Rebecca Black's 'Friday'.

It was not cool for him to be humming that song.

But it had been a ridiculously long week punctuated by errors made by his coworkers that it fell to him to correct and he was so relieved to not be coming into work for the next two days.

He would miss seeing Ginny though.

They'd been chatting more in the last two weeks since she'd given him the pens. He hadn't been able to help himself looking up 'The W's Co-op' and finding out she was from a small community in Devon. That led to him finding out she'd been a phenomenal football star on the rise through her secondary school years. He'd sort of lost himself in a cyber stalking web. At least he'd had piece of mind to do the stalking from his personal laptop, he was the I.T. Security senior staffer at work after all.

Thankfully, after looking her up, he had a few topics of conversation he could start up with her and she'd brought up all that he'd discovered about her in their chats. It was a relief to him that it wouldn't sound creepy if he mentioned something now.

Another e-mail dinged on his computer and he blew out his cheeks at yet another moronic mistake that he saw had been made for him to personally clean-up.

"That's an attractive face," Ginny said from his doorway.

He grinned at the sight of her. She'd been stopping into his office every now and then, sometimes with a treat in hand. He really hoped she wasn't simply thinking of him as a workplace friend and instead was seeing him as potentially more than that. Not that he knew whether she could tell he was interested in her as more than a friend.

"Thanks, I made a bit more of an effort for you in particular when I got ready this morning," he quipped.

"Nice to see we're both putting in the effort for each other," she winked jokingly and took up in the seat on the other side of his desk. "You've had a full-on week it seems."

"I have," he sighed. "So looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow."

"Sounds like someone doesn't have flat mates or noisy neighbors," she commented.

"It's true, I lucked out and got a nice sub-let situation all to myself," he admitted. "I have family and family friends with all the connections."

"Oh la la," she grinned. "That mean you're going to be done with this place as soon as it hits five o'clock then? Because there is a chance that some of us are sticking around for after work drinks." Her eyebrow went up in questions.

He was craving getting home with some take away and watching the shows he'd recorded over the week, but he'd have to be mad to choose that over spending more time with her. "What kind of drinks are we talking?" he asked in the same teasing voice she'd used.

"Well, Sampson is apparently huge into the Craft Beer scene that is taking over the modern world. He's brought in a bunch of growlers for us all to sample. If that doesn't meet your snooty, polished requirements I'm sure we can snoop in a few lower drawers and come up with a selection of Scotch's stashed around the office."

Harry laughed at how mischievous she was. "Raiding and pilfering sounds great," he told her, "can't wait."

()()

People in the office tended not to stay much past 4:30pm on Fridays so by five there were only five people there plus the Custodian that was emptying the garbage cans. Ginny, Harry, Sampson, Jordan, and Eloise were all sitting around a conference table and testing out each of Sampson's five different flavored home brews. All of which had surprisingly different tastes.

Harry didn't know much about beer, but he really didn't stray far from an India Pale Ale, so the 'banana notes' and such that Sampson was going on about didn't make much of an impact with him. It sounded like Ginny and Jordan knew what the man was carrying on about, meanwhile Harry and Eloise were just sitting there sipping and nodding as though they understood.

"I'm going to go and grab some water," Ginny announced before they started in on the third growler. "Harry, come help me with the glassware, would you?" Not waiting for his response, she started towards the kitchen.

"You really know your beer," he commented as he caught up beside her in the hallway.

"Oh, that's all bullshit really," she sniggered. "A guy I used to see was really into it. Dragged me around on a brewery tour or two. I do know that you're supposed to have a bit of water to 'wash out the palate' between trying different types though."

"Ah, so Brewery Guy taught you everything you know then?" he asked as they reached the kitchen.

"About beer, yeah." She started checking the cupboards for a jug for the water and Harry went to get the glasses. "I'm really not a fan of beer though. Don't mind a nice cider every now and again."

"Thank God. Woman after my own heart," Harry sighed. "I'm good with an IPA, but I didn't want to forfeit my man card by spitting out that last one. I'd really rather just a scotch and soda."

"I can get you one," she said suggestively.

Harry hadn't been facing her then, but he turned his head and saw she looked to be checking out his behind when she'd said that. He felt a hope bubble rising in his chest. She was checking him out. That meant she saw him as potential dating material, right?

"You can? Did you pilfer the desk drawers with out me?" he managed to ask.

"Is this really your first After Hours Office Drinks?" Ginny asked seeming incredulous at the idea.

"Er, yeah." He'd been with the company for three years, and he was casual friends with plenty of the people there, but he'd only met up at a pub or somewhere with anyone if they were going to hang out.

He couldn't look away from her then. There was something about how she was holding herself, leaning back against the counter with her hands resting on the counter on either side of her. She was so relaxed, yet her eyes were on his and holding an almost predatory look that gave him a happy kind of tingle running through his veins.

"You like me, right?" she asked.

"What?" he breathed out.

"You. Like. Me." She repeated. "Right?"

"I heard you, I just. Um."

Her shoulders sagged infinitesimally, and he felt his hope bubble expanding. That meant she fancied him, right?

"Yes," he admitted.

Her face split into a brilliant grin, "good. You can be very hard to read there, Mr. Potter."

"Oh? I didn't think I was hiding that well at all." He'd been sure that he'd stopped just shy of being a bumbling fool in front of her since that first time he'd seen her in the lift. He hadn't even been properly single when he'd first seen her a year ago. His girlfriend at the time and he both had one foot out the relationship then and were simply playing chicken over who would crack first and bring it up.

Ginny snorted and went to the fridge, pulling out a can of soda. "No, I couldn't properly tell at all," she said coming over to put the can down on the counter beside him. "I just knew I liked you."

She was so close to him now. Their clothes were almost touching.

"I got your soda," she said in the most seductive manner he could imagine. Right before she put a hand on his tie and used it to bring his lips down to hers.

He immediately gripped her hip and pulled her closer to him. He'd been picturing this moment for ages and wanted to do justice to all the scenarios that had played out in his waking dreams of having her in his arms. Her lips were just as soft as he imagined, her light perfume filling his senses and tricking his brain into believing she tasted as good as she smelled.

She was responding as eagerly as he was, though he was damning himself for not taking the time for a quick wank in the shower that morning, because he was very eager for it.

The sound of a throat clearing from the door to the kitchen had them pulling apart sharply. Harry whipped his head around to see the custodian standing there.

"I clean three more rooms," she said in her heavily Russian accented English. "You make mess in kitchen after, you clean you selves."

Ginny shook with laughter. "Sorry," she managed, "we'll get out of your way."

Ginny grabbed the water jug and the soda can, Harry stacked the cups and they both left the kitchen shaking with nervous laughter.

"Hold on," she stopped him as they were passing the District Managers office. She ducked in there and snagged a bottle of low brand Scotch. "I'll put it back later," she told him.

"Think Sampson will be offended if I don't try the other ones?" he worried. He didn't want to offend his coworker somehow, it wasn't that the beers tasted terrible, they just weren't his cup of tea.

"No," Ginny assured him. "I'm sure he's had that reaction before. I've blatantly compared one of his beers to cat piss and he simply laughed and said it was an acquired taste. Just say your palate simply hasn't been trained enough for the testing, you were more interested in the company tasting them."

"Well that's true," he admitted.

"Is it?" she asked coyly.

He felt a blush rise to his cheeks, but she had just snogged him in the kitchen, so what was the use in pretending now. "Yeah," he smiled at her.

Her grin grew even bigger then.

Sampson was not at all offended when he saw Harry had switched to spirits. Jordan had jumped at the chance to switch to Scotch and soda as well, and mercifully the conversation changed to something other than beer that Harry and Eloise could weigh in on.

One by one the other three had to head home to their families/pets and Harry and Ginny offered to clean up the mess.

After they'd gotten everything into the kitchen and put away Ginny simply took him by the hand, eagerly leading him back to his office. "Now, where were we?" she asked before planting her lips on his again.

His Scotch filled brain had loosened any inhibitions or concerns he'd had about when and where with her and he was responding eagerly. Harry certainly liked how direct she was. He waved his hands about to flip the light on and shut the door, pinning her to the back of it and wishing her skirt wasn't so tight so she could wrap her legs around him with ease.

"You'll tell me when to stop, right?" he managed to ask after several mind numbingly passionate minutes of wandering hands and lips as he kissed his way down her neck.

"How about you don't," she moaned as she rocked against his erection, tugging at his shirt to pull it out of his trousers. "I've been thinking about doing this with you since I started working next door."

Harry groaned in appreciation. It was a relief to know that they were on the same page about that. His hand came down to cup her bum. Though she'd said yes, he wasn't about to simply pull up her skirt himself. Her nails raked along the skin on his back and he couldn't help thrusting against her then.

"Mmm, chair," she mumbled and moved him backwards.

"What?" he asked, carrying right on kissing any part of her he could get to while he was still backing up and not paying much attention to where she was directing them.

"I said," she pulled back from him then, her fingers splayed on his chest, "I want you in your chair."

All the air in his lungs vacated when she pulled at his belt and gave him a push back into his desk chair. He was completely mesmerized as she started to undo the buttons on her blouse.

This had to be a dream. It was only when he was having really good dreams, or watching the really basic porno's, that office sex scene's like this played out; hot girl talks the guy into staying late at the office then gets him alone and strips down before fucking him in his desk chair. The girls bra and knickers usually matched in that situation though, Harry couldn't help that thought as she shimmied her bright blue knickers down her legs, her skirt still on and her dark purple bra now the only item covering her top half.

"You going to help me out here?" she cocked an eyebrow at him and slowly gestured to how he was still completely dressed.

With a jolt his hands flew to his own clothes. They were doing this. She _was_ going to shag him in his chair. He pulled his shirt over his head and managed to pinch open his button and undo his zip, shoving them down to his knees before her hand came to rest on his shoulder and she straddled him, her skirt bunched up at her waist.

She ground against him as soon as their lips met again and they both groaned at the sensation.

"I've wanted this since I first saw you in the lift a year ago," he panted in between kisses. "I wasn't even single then, you just smelled so fucking incredible." He kissed down her neck to the valley between her breasts.

"You're single now though, right?" she asked, her head thrown back, her state of bliss making it sound very much like she wasn't too bothered what his answer would be.

"Yes, completely," he assured her.

"Good," she rolled her hips once more against his erection before sliding her hand between them and pulling his cock through the flap in his boxers, slowly lowering herself on him.

They both sat completely still for a moment while they savored the feeling of being joined with each other.

Harry was limited in what he could do from this position. Ginny started rocking her pelvis, and that felt good, but he really wanted to slide in and out of her more, get the full range of feeling that shagging could provide. It still felt incredible, and he was entirely turned on that she was wanting to give this a go, so his erection wasn't going anywhere.

He just wasn't sure that he was going to be able to get off like this.

He could see a look of concentration of her face, eyes closed tight while she focused and biting her lower lip. Right behind her though was his desk. It wouldn't take much to sweep away some of the items there and lay her back on it. He wouldn't even have to do the whole 'arm sweep everything to the floor' move that you see on the screens.

He pivoted the chair and reached over quickly to move his desk paraphernalia out of the way. Ginny gave a small squeak of surprise when he lifted her out of the chair and rested her back on the desk.

There, he thought with satisfaction. Now he had the range of motion to shag her properly. He gave her slow and complete thrusts and felt her responding appreciatively to the full length of him sliding in and out of her properly, her giving these little hip twirls when he was buried inside her all the way.

Her legs wrapped around him, ankles locked. He cupped her bum, kneading it and loving just how grabbable her arse was. This desk shagging option was feeling incredible to him.

But after only a few moments she wasn't sounding quite as enraptured with it as he was. Harry pulled his lips away from hers and opened his eyes to see if maybe she was quietly enjoying this. Perhaps she was simply the type to stay silent while she was enjoying the throws of passion?

Her expression did not match that possibility though.

Damning himself for needing some kind of audible confirmation of enjoyment he slowed his rhythm. "Is this not good?" he asked.

Ginny's eyes popped open then and she gave him a regretful cringe. "It kind of hurts my tailbone," she admitted.

He stopped his movements completely and rested his head in the crook of her neck. "The chair was hotter in theory for me, but in reality," he told her.

Ginny let out a regretful moan of exasperation. "Damn it," she pushed him away slightly. He pulled back and she came up on her elbows. "Apparently office sex isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"Apparently," he agreed and slipped out of her, adjusting his boxers to hide his erection. "Erm, any interest in trying this in a bed? Say, back at mine?"

Ginny grinned up at him, tugging her skirt back down. "yes please."

()()()

**AN- Yes, I've tried sex in an office setting, and this is basically exactly what happened. Except the chair part is a work out for the girls thighs too. The table bit though, it took a week for my tailbone to feel better after that one.**


	21. Care of the County

**AN- This prompt was brought to me by Celine Gryffindor who was reading this Compilation and made a special request.**

**It was a long prompt I was given, but I was completely game. Harry is Muggle, Ginny isn't. (full prompt at the bottom so I don't give away the whole story you're about to read)**

**()()()**

**Care of the County**

**()()()**

On November 1st, 1981, while the majority of the wizarding world was celebrating the downfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, there were also several families in mourning.

Frank and Alice Longbottom had been killed their child, now orphaned and something that little boy had done had been the evil Lord's downfall; Neville Longbottom was being praised as the Boy-Who-Lived and had been hidden away from the magical world by his Grandmother. She'd immediately put her home under the Fidelus to keep the reporters from coming in search of her only grandson and making the world think of him as some kind of messiah.

Lesser known from that pivitol night was that a four-month-old had been snatched away in all the chaos from one of the most prolific pureblood families out there. Arthur and Molly Weasley's only daughter had been taken away from them. There were no leads and the family was completely devastated.

For months they searched for sign of her and some sign of who it was that had broken into their home in the dead of night and taken her from her crib while her parents slept only feet away. But all the Death Eaters that had been captured and questioned had admitted to no knowledge of it. The case was left open with no leads. The entirety of what was left of the Order of Phoenix had done what they could to console the Weasley's and assist with their six boys while Molly, who had always wanted a daughter, was inconsolable and shut herself up in her room.

After a while, once her breast milk had run dry and her husband removed the empty crib from their room, she allowed her sons to come to her one by one and climb into her bed and cuddle with her. Day by day she stepped out of her bedroom for a little bit longer. Arthur was her rock, and her oldest boys had been so helpful with their younger siblings.

After two months Molly was making meals again. After five months she managed a smile. After a year she found her desire to make love to her husband again, insuring she had a contraceptive charm in place as there would be no more children for her.

()()()()()()()

September 1990

Harry was running away from Dudley and his gang again. Always. It was his recess ritual. The teachers must have thought they were playing tag or something since they never stepped in to stop the harassment Harry got from Dudley, Piers and the others.

He rounded the corner by the trash bins and caught someone out of the corner of his eye leaning against the wall, but he kept on running. The gang wasn't very far behind him when he got to the dead end, kicking himself again for winding up in the corner of the yard with nowhere left to go. He braced himself and stopped from colliding too hard with the wall.

"Nowhere to go, Potter," Piers said as he and the three other boys blocked him in. "You going to cry to a teacher this time?"

"Well, he can't cry to his mummy now can he?" Dudley mocked.

This was all a game to them; Pick on Potter. He looked for a gap that he could run through in their formation but couldn't see one. He gave in to the notion that they had him. They didn't bust him up too bad usually. Maybe he would get sent to the nurse again and be able to skiv off his afternoon lessons.

"Hey," came a call behind Piers.

Harry saw a flash from light reflecting off the trash bin lid just before it hit Piers across the face. Harry stood in shock staring at a petite red headed girl with a tough face and blazing brown eyes sneering down at Piers and checking that the other three boys weren't making a move toward her. "Don't you lot know that four on one isn't a fair fight?" she asked.

"You're going to get in trouble for that," Dudley said stupidly.

She pulled an innocent face. "What do you mean? The four of you just came out of no where and I was just so scared. I was defending myself," her chin quivered and she sounded about ready to cry.

"That's not what happened!" Dudley's friend Ian shouted.

She dropped her act in the blink of an eye. "Well get out of here before I start defending myself more. And then you lot can go ahead and tattle to the teachers that you got beat by a little girl," she raised the bin lid as though to start swinging it again.

"You're crazy!" Dudley said and helped Piers stand up before they all ran back to the playground.

She turned and followed them with her eyes until they rounded the corner before she turned back to Harry. She looked him over appraisingly, "you a foster?"

"A. A foster?" he stammered.

"Yeah. A foster kid," she pointed to his baggy clothes.

"No. I just. I… live with my aunt and uncle," he lowered his gaze to his ragged shirt that had once been his cousins. He hated how his clothes made him stand out in class. He looked like a vagrant most of the time.

"Hmf. And they can't get you clothes that fit?" she herself was wearing clothes that were very worn and a size or two too large for her.

"You are a foster kid?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thought I was defending one of my own. We tend to stick together," she shrugged. "We get bullied a lot like that," she tossed the bin lid down. "Your aunt and uncle not like you or something?" she asked flippantly.

"They… I don't know. I guess not. They call me a freak a lot, and don't stop Dudley and his gang from treating me like that," he pointed feebly towards the playground, having intentionally left out the other ways his aunt and uncle show they don't like him. She turned and looked towards the playground too and looked back confused about his bully's link to his home life. "He's my cousin," he explained.

Her mouth drew into a hard line. "He's your actual _family_ and he treats you like that?" she asked outraged. "What a little shit!"

Harry smiled tentatively at that. This girl looked to be younger than him, but she was rather intimidating.

"You know. I get called a freak sometimes too," she offered. "It's sometimes why I get passed on to another foster home. Was with the last one anyways."

"You do?" he knew he sounded too happy about that, but he'd never had any friends before. If the two of them had something in common, then maybe she would be his friend.

"Yeah. I try not to cause trouble. But trouble just happens to find me." She didn't seem to broken up about being bumped to different homes, like it was simply a fact of life for her.

"That's exactly what happens to me!" he exclaimed and took a step towards her. "Usually it's more that Dudley does something wrong and blames me for it though."

She gave him a smile and held out her hand, "I'm Jenny."

"Harry," he clasped her hand. "You just transferred to the school?"

"Yeah. We'll see if I can make it through to the end of the school year at this one," she looked up at the building.

"How many schools have you been to?"

"Usually two a year. Did all of my second year at Fairlop in North London though."

"Thanks, by the way," he pointed to the trash bin lid.

"Ah. Yeah," she kicked it more to the side. "Well, four on one really wasn't a fair fight. And that comment about your mum."

"No one's ever," he stopped. No one had ever stood up for him before.

She gave him a hard look, "would you do the same for me?"

"Yes," he said instantly.

"Then we can be friends."

Jenny was a year below him, but they had all of their recess' together and ate lunch together. Neither of them got much in the way of lunches, but it was a nicer variety when they could split cookies or eat one half of a different sandwich. Dudley and his gang hadn't said anything to the teachers about her hitting Piers, and she would give them a blazing, intimidating look whenever one of them drew close.

She'd been in six different foster homes since she was three, and she was only nine. According to her, each of them had had a good and bad parts to them. There were always other kids there, that was the good part, but some of the foster parents could be abusive or neglectful. If she talked back too much or got in trouble at school, she would get passed along to another family.

She was serious about her saying that foster kids stick together. It was the number one rule for her; never betray a foster kid, and always defend them and back up their stories. She said he was an honorary foster kid to her. Harry couldn't describe the warm feeling of acceptance that overtook him when she said that. And she'd said it so casually and punched him lightly in the shoulder when she did it to downplay it for his benefit.

She didn't seem to care that none of the other kids wanted to be friends with her because she hung out with him. The other foster kids in the place she was staying now were in their teens, or not school age yet and stayed home with the foster mom, so she was the only foster kid at the school then.

Jenny said the mum at the place she was in now was nice, and always asked her politely to help her with the younger kids. Never demanding. "I think I might like staying at this one," she admitted to him a month after they'd met. "I hope I don't mess it up actually."

"How would you mess it up?"

She shrugged. They were passing a bag of grapes back and forth, "fighting is the usual cause. I can't stand to see someone getting bullied, so I step in. Like I did with you. If that ponce-"

"Piers," he corrected her.

"What did I say?" she smiled with a twinkle in her eye. Harry laughed. "If that _ponce_ had told a teacher I'd whacked him across he face with a bin lid, I'd probably already have moved on. I've got a history of 'violent acts' in my file. So, I'm pretty much a one and done."

"I thought you said these parents were nice to you."

"They are," she assured him. "And I've had nice one's before. Really nice. But I am not their kid. They didn't adopt me or anything. And they've got a lot of kids they're responsible for…"

Harry had wondered if he would have liked to be a foster kid over living with his aunt and uncle. He'd have a network of 'sibling' types. And if his 'trouble making' would have him get passed along to another family, that wouldn't be so bad. It was kind of like starting over.

Just as summer was about to start, Jenny got in trouble at school though.

Ian, one of Dudley's friends was picking on a third year and Jenny launched herself at him. A teacher had to pry her off of him and her fists were still swinging. She accidentally elbowed the teacher in the nose and it started bleeding, which caused her to get hauled off to the headmaster's office.

Harry saw her being led out of the school by a social worker and he bolted out of class in time to catch her before she was loaded into the back of a sedan. She ran at him and hugged him tight. "I'm sorry." she said muffled into his neck.

"I'm going to miss you," he tried not to cry. She was his first and only friend.

"Me too," she whispered back. "I'll write you. I promise!"

"Jenny," the social worker called from the car impatiently.

Jenny pulled back from the hug. Her eyes were glistening, and it caused all kinds of knots in his stomach. She was the strongest, most bull-headed person he knew. She didn't cry.

Jenny kissed his cheek and turned away, not looking back at him even once.

For weeks Harry was in a state of depression. Every day he would pounce on the mail as soon as it came through the slot hoping to have a letter from her. He was due to start at Stonewall High soon, somewhere that his cousin wouldn't be, and he would possibly be able to make new friends. But he couldn't help thinking that he might make new friends a little easier if he was able to talk to his old one.

Finally. Finally, he got word from her.

A small blue envelope came through the mail slot with a collection of bills and advertisements, a blue envelope that was addressed to him. He nearly dropped it, his hands going numb when he saw the untidy scrawl there and took note of her new address, it wasn't too far away!

It wasn't until the end of the day that he managed to open his letter in private. She apologized for taking so long and promised that she hadn't forgot about him, in fact she spent a bit of every day hoping that he was doing okay and getting on alright without her.

She also encouraged him to look into finding a way to get away from his aunt and uncle.

He hadn't considered calling Child Protective Services as an option.

Harry had been entirely honest about his life with the Dursley's every time she'd asked; something she hadn't done until they were a few weeks along in their friendship. She knew where his bruises really came from, and why. Jenny knew that his guardians hadn't wanted him, they'd only taken him in out of familial obligation. Harry's parents had been artists, at least that was the story he'd gotten from Mrs. Figg, the neighbor that minded him sometimes. Mrs. Figg had lived on Privet Drive for decades and claimed she remembered his parents coming by for a visit a few times. It was only through Mrs. Figg that he heard any stories about his mum and dad and each one of them had been fanciful stories about their nomadic existence, even with a baby under their wing.

Going into the Foster system might be something he could look into, but things might also get better for him when he was in a different school from his cousin in a few weeks.

Harry and Jenny started corresponding once a week minimum, so he wasn't too surprised to see her waiting outside his new school on the second day of classes when he was about to head home.

"Did you know," she started as she rested back against the railing outside the doors of the miserable school, "that if one runs for five minutes straight they will make it from Chesterford Elementary to Stonewall High and only _almost_ run out of breath?"

Harry grinned widely at the sight of her and didn't think before pulling her into a big hug.

For the full year Jenny managed to stay in the same school with out incident. She liked the kids that she was living with, and the foster parents were really nice.

It was a great relief for Harry, because having Jenny around after school sometimes had caused a few others at the school to start being friendly to him. Jenny had made Harry let his guard down a bit, and it helped that his cousin Dudley was off at boarding school. His clothes were still ten times worse than the other students, and he was still the sickliest looking kid in his class, but he had friends now, Jenny was the only one of them that knew what his home life was like though.

If Jenny managed to keep at the place she was currently living, then it looked like she would be going to Stonewall High in the coming year as well.

()()()

Albus Dumbledore sat anxiously at his desk waiting.

It was August 11th, 1992 and he was anxious because he wanted to have good news by the end of the day for people that had become quite dear to him. People who had been incredibly strong and patient and were no doubt quite a bit more anxious than he right now.

Ginevra Weasley was due to turn eleven any minute. The ancient woven scroll to the far right of the Headmasters desk was going to either answer all the hopes and prayers of many or stay devastatingly blank. This scroll had been created by the founders using a centuries old and forgotten magic that had taken decades to perfect, and Albus had been unable to manipulate.

When a young witch or wizard turned exactly eleven years-old anywhere in the United Kingdom their name and location would appear on the scroll.

There was a knock at the office door.

"Enter."

A pleasant looking woman came in wearing a standard Muggle woman's business suit; something Albus had requested, just in case. As the search for the girl through out the magical world had failed, it was to be concluded that she would be found in the Muggle world.

"Albus," she nodded.

"Thank you for agreeing to come Amelia."

"Of course. I just hope we'll have good news for Arthur and Molly. I couldn't imagine," she came to sit in front of the desk and clasped her hands in her lap. She was nervous, as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement she'd seen her share of vicious acts; one resulting in her being the sole guardian of her niece Susan.

But this was more than a decade of tension in the making. The day would end in tears either way but having to deliver news that one's daughter or sister was lost forever when the Weasley's had been waiting so long to know for sure… Albus would be with Amelia when she delivered the news either way.

The scroll glowed faintly and they both held their breath as golden ink spread out across the page;

_Ginevra Weasley "Jenny"_

_1302 Oval Circle, Croyden_

Amelia immediately wrote it down. "That's a Muggle address," she said. "I will get to a police station and check their database for anything suspicious." This was the process for all Muggleborns attending Hogwarts, it gave them a better understanding of how best to approach the parents and the children.

"I will accompany you," he transfigured his robes and followed her to the Floo.

()()()

Jenny Smith was in her room with Tanya, her younger Foster sister, brushing her hair before she plaited it. They were going to go to the park after their Foster parents got back with the two youngest of the kids, the boys. The boys were both under the age of five, full of energy and loud. Jenny was in some trouble again and trying to make up for it by staying out from underfoot and being quietly helpful. She'd gotten in the middle of a fight again.

Growing up in the foster system really made her an advocate for the underdogs, and seeing anyone get bullied made her vision go red. Sometimes she would get so worked up that the air would literally crackle around her before she would start in on the bullies.

This time it had been two girls that were maybe two years older than her, picking on a quiet girl that had been in Jenny's class last year. There was no way the girl could have, or would have, done something to deserve their taunts and ridicule, but Jenny had gotten too aggressive with the bullies, and other parents at the park had seen what happened. It had been a long time since she flew off the handle like that; a whole year actually. The last time was when she accidentally hurt one of her teachers. Then she'd had to move away again.

Tanya had been at her new foster home when she arrived. She and the foster parents were really nice. When Jenny explained to them what happened about the fight they took it well, but had to report it to Social Services.

As a ward of the county it was mandatory.

They assured her that they'd included a note about how they still wished for her to remain with them.

The fight was a week ago, and no one had showed up yet, so it looked like it might not be an issue.

"You almost done? I want the room," Meegan was the newest addition to the house. Despite her gothic appearance she'd been pretty nice to live with. Her dyed black hair, chains on her clothes, and eyebrow piercing just made her look intimidating and angry. She was fifteen, and moody, but good to Jenny and Tanya. They all slept in one room.

"Nearly," Jenny told her and started plaiting Tanya's hair. Meegan hummed and headed back downstairs.

"What do you think she does at night when she sneaks out?" Tanya asked.

They'd both kept their mouths shut about Meegan going in and out through the window after her curfew. "Meets a boy. Probably had a Romeo and Juliet thing going on," Jenny sighed dramatically before they both started giggling.

There was a knock at the door downstairs.

"There," she finished tying the elastic in Tanya's hair, and they smiled at each other in the mirror.

"Jenny!" Meegan yelled up the stairs.

The smiles dropped off of their faces as they stared into each other's reflections. There could only be one reason someone would be at the door for her.

"But they said-" Tanya started.

"Maybe. Maybe it won't be that. Maybe it's just a check in. Maybe Harry's finally gotten away from his relatives and come for a visit," she tried to placate the younger girl unconvincingly and gave her a tight smile. Jenny made her way to the stairs and each step down felt like she was marching to her doom. She liked it here. She wanted to stay. Tanya needed her.

She came around the other side of the door from the stairs. There were two of them this time. The woman was the standard Social Services type, standard blazer, standard hair, but she looked un-standardly pleased to see her. Normally they had this fake smile and hurried look about them. This one looked happy to see her and like she truly was her _only_ priority. It was a little unsettling.

The old man with her looked like Father Time in a suit. He too looked quite happy to see her.

"I'm Jenny," she said sadly.

"Hi Jenny, I'm Amelia with Social Services. And this is Albus. I understand your foster parents aren't home right now?"

"They should be back soon," she tried not to pout.

"Okay. Well we wouldn't come in with out their permission, but would you mind sitting with us for a chat in the garden while we wait?"

Jenny sighed and followed them out. They all got themselves awkwardly seated at the tiny plastic picnic table.

"Do you like it here Jenny?" Albus asked her.

"Yes," she was trying not to get too emotional, but it was hard. Sometimes she'd been relieved to see a social worker, but not for a few years. There had been one set of foster parents that had yelled at her all the time, smoked like chimneys and given her unfair punishments. She'd been happy to leave there. There was also the clean freak Stepford wife woman that basically boiled her in bath water and then used the strap on her bum for having dirty fingernails, that time she was happy to leave too. But she thought she could stay with this family until she aged out. "They're nice. So are the kids. I know I shouldn't have gotten into that fight. But someone had to stop it," she said defiantly. "There were parents there too, and they didn't step in. It wasn't right."

"So, you hitting those girls was what was right?" Amelia asked. She didn't sound sarcastic about it.

Jenny looked her straight in the eye. Her options were to lie and apologize by saying no or say how she truly felt. "I'm not just going to sit by and let people get bullied. I know how it feels and it's not nice," she stuck her chin out a bit in defiance.

Both Amelia and Albus looked pleased with her answer.

They were really weird.

She lowered her eyes to the blue plastic the table, "should I just go and pack now? Can you tell me?"

Amelia exchanged a look with Albus. They looked conflicted about how to proceed. Amelia turned back to her and nodded, lowering her eyes sympathetically.

Jenny clenched her jaw, stood up and ran back into the house and up the stairs.

Meegan was hugging Tanya on her bed. Jenny's chin warbled at the sight. She didn't want to leave them. It had been over such a small thing. It wasn't fair.

She pulled her duffel bag out from under her bed and emptied her drawer into it. She didn't have much in the way of things. A few clothes, and extra pair of sneakers and a few knick knacks. Just enough to fill the bag. She picked up her teddy bear. It had been a welcome gift when she got there. She loved it, despite how it made her feel so much younger for having it. Probably _because_ it made her feel so much younger, like a child taken care of. If she took it with her to the in between facility though she'd get tormented about it.

One last hug. She buried her face in it one more time and handed it over to Tanya, "keep it safe." Tanya went to Jenny and hugged her tight, Meegan too. It was a ritual they were all, unfortunately, familiar with. They'd seen many of their kind leave, and they'd been the one's leaving. It was always hard, but they persevered.

Her foster mom Dana had been coming back in with the boys when Jenny was on her way down the stairs with her duffle bag of belongings. Daniel was a toddler and Brayden was four. "Jenny," Dana said sadly and hugged her in, "I told them we wanted to keep you."

"It's okay," Jenny gave her a hug, and a kiss to each of the boys.

Her foster dad Chris was standing with Amelia and Albus outside by the picnic table. Albus had some kind of funny stick pointed at him. "Quite amusing," she heard Albus say and put the stick in his pocket.

Chris turned to Jenny. "Alright Jenny. It was good having you girl," he said chipperly and ruffled her hair on his way into the house.

She was confused. That was a little less heart felt than she'd expected. All of her foster dads had kept a little distance with her, but she'd at least expected a hug from him after a year with her.

"Ready to go?" Amelia asked.

Jenny nodded and headed to the gate. There was a black official looking car waiting for them. Albus held the door open for her, she climbed in. There was a driver. That was weird. Something didn't feel right about this. Amelia and Albus climbed in and closed the door. Amelia tapped the glass and the car shot forward at an alarming speed.

Jenny let out a surprised scream. She looked out the window, the car seemed to be jumping from road to road, like it was transporting itself ahead rather than driving there.

"Everything is okay Jenny," Albus told her.

"What? What's going on?" she asked in a panic.

"Jenny, we haven't been entirely truthful with you. We didn't come and get you because of your fight. We came because we discovered where your real family is. Who you really are."

"What? Who. What do you mean?" she'd had silly little fantasies about being discovered that she was actually a missing princess or something similar when she was younger, but they'd been silly little fantasies, and she was absolutely not a princess.

"My dear, this may seem very confusing," Albus told her. "But you are the missing child of a very loving family. They have been searching for you for nearly eleven years."

Jenny scrunched up her face, "eleven years and now, all of a sudden, you walk in and load me up in some kind of warp speed car to tell me I have a real family?"

"The reason we didn't know before now is because we couldn't get a proper trace on your magic until you were eleven," Amelia told her.

Jenny stared at Amelia as she slid around on her seat while the car was swerving left and right.

"You are a witch Jenny," Albus told her.

"What?" These people were completely cracked. "You're saying that I'm a witch and the missing child of some witchy family?"

Amelia pulled an impossibly large file out of her purse, the file was easily three times the size of the bag. She took out an old newspaper clipping and handed it to her.

There was a moving picture on it.

Jenny flipped the paper over a few times trying to figure out what the trick was. She stared at the photo. It was black and white. There was a mum and dad with a bunch of kids. The oldest one looked to be about her age. They were all boys, except for maybe the one-ish year old the dad was holding and the baby in the mum's arms.

**Weasley Family Begs Public for any Leads on Missing Baby Girl.**

_Last seen asleep in her crib the night of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's downfall. Thought to be part of the violent acts that happened around the country on that very night. Ginevra Molly Weasley, the baby seen above, was not yet four months old with ginger hair on the night of her disappearance and her family is understandably devastated by the loss._

Jenny didn't read the rest. "How. How do you know I was the baby? Because I'm around the right age and have ginger hair?" she was confused. Hopeful too. Somewhere deep inside her she was jumping up and down at the idea that it might be true, but what were the odds really? She didn't want to get excited just to have it all be a mistake, or a dream.

Amelia handed her a stick.

Jenny automatically took it but didn't understand why. She felt a rush go up her arm from the stick though. "Oh!" she looked down at it.

"Picture a light at the end of it and say 'Lumos'," Amelia instructed her.

Jenny gave her a wary look but humored her. "Lumos," Jenny said and waved the stick once. The tip shone bright, like a flashlight, she dropped it in surprise. "This is ridiculous," Jenny said. "It's some kind of, like, joke shop item or something."

"Is the prophet clipping or the cars ability to get us so quickly through London traffic a joke as well?" Amelia asked, pointing out the window.

They were now barreling down a highway surrounded by country. She could see the London smog retreating in the distance. "I. I don't," Jenny paused, thinking.

"You turned exactly eleven years-old at 10:40 this morning, and your name; Ginevra Molly Weasley, appeared on my list of witches and wizards due to start school on September first," Albus told her.

"You're a teacher?" Jenny asked slowly.

"Headmaster of Hogwarts School or Witchcraft and Wizardry," he waved his funny stick over his suit and the clothes transformed into some sort of weird mans dress, like merlin from Fantasia.

Jenny chewed her lip and contemplated what he just done and what they said. "So, I'm a witch," they smiled softly and nodded. "And. And this is my family," she held up the newspaper clipping with the family photo on it. Still moving.

The mum was taking the baby's hand and making it wave. Jenny smiled at that. She studied the faces in the photo. There were twin toddlers tormenting their next oldest sibling and getting scolded by the two oldest boys. The one year old started fussing in his dad's arms and the dad coo-ed at him. Then the picture looped back. They all looked nice. The mum looked like she would be a good cook and great at giving hugs, if you could tell such things from a photo. The dad looked tired, but proud.

"Are they all boys?" she asked. "Except for the baby?"

"Yes," Amelia told her.

This. This was her… family. It was a big family.

"They only had one daughter?" she saw them nod in her peripherals. She suddenly looked up. "Are you taking me to them right now?" she realized in a panic.

"We are," Albus told her.

What if it was all a big mistake? She looked out the windows of the car again, and to Amelia and Albus' faces. They seemed so _sure_. She looked back down at all of the faces in the photo. The oldest boy. She did bear a striking resemblance to him. Throw a wig on him, and maybe the next eldest's nose, and that could easily be her in the photo.

"I want to believe you," she whispered. The car slowed down to a stop. 'Oh God,' she thought.

"We're here," Amelia told her and opened the door, taking Jenny's bag.

If Jenny hadn't believed that magic was real from what the two of them had shown her in the car then she certainly didn't have any doubts after seeing the home at the bottom of the hill they were looking down. It resembled some of the Lego block towers that the boys built, the one's that would topple over sideways from poor construction. However, this home didn't seem to be on the verge of toppling, it was simply one uneven piece of architecture on another.

Albus started down the hill ahead of them, Amelia stayed beside Jenny, her duffle bag slung over her shoulder.

The grounds around the house were vast and wild. There was a little forest area surrounding the property and she could make out a few animals wandering the grounds. She would have loved to have grown up in the country like this. There was plenty of room for running and having little adventures.

Her attention was brought back to the house when people started coming out from inside it. One after another the line of them never seemed to stop. A full eight gingers were standing right against the house, simply waiting for she and these two fake Social Workers to finish walking towards them.

Albus came to a stop in front of them and Jenny came to stand beside him. She was doing everything she could not to simply turn around and run the other way. This was everything that she'd ever dreamed of, and entirely terrifying.

There were EIGHT of them. Six brothers and two parents looking at her like she was what had been missing from their lives.

But what if she wasn't?

"That magic stick of yours going to make sure I'm who you think I am?" she asked Albus quietly, her eyes on the mother Weasley.

()()()

Harry couldn't believe it.

He'd been worried when he hadn't seen or heard from Jenny in several days, but when he did finally get a letter from her, well, he just couldn't believe it!

Not only was she not going to be attending Stonewall with him in the fall, but she'd moved to Devon of all places and it turned out that she was a missing child from a large family. He was happy for her, of course, but he couldn't help feeling like a piece of himself had been torn away. She was so important to him, and now there was a chance he would never see her again.

He'd cried himself to sleep that first night that he'd gotten the letter.

She had a real family now, what would she need him for? She had a mum and a dad and SIX brothers. Apparently they'd done a DNA test and proven that she was really the missing girl. Her name was Ginny now too, not Jenny.

Ginevra Molly Weasley.

She lived on a farm now and was learning to tend to chickens and such. She was having a fantastic time and would be going to some fancy school with four of her brothers come September and Harry would probably never hear from her again.

But she proved him wrong.

Every week with out fail she would send him a letter letting him know about everything that she'd been getting up to. She wrote about new friends that she'd made, and how her brothers were helping her get around her new school, and about crazy family rivalries the Weasley's apparently had with some other family call the Malfoys that went back generations and she was proudly now a part of. She told him about her new friend Colin and some boy that was in her closest in age brothers year at school that had some amazing legend behind his name. She told him about how she'd been constantly embarrassing herself around this Neville boy and how she didn't know what was wrong with her or quite why he made her blush.

Harry had been writing back to her every time he got a letter, but he wasn't sure why her letters were showing that they were coming from a place just North of Brighton when she claimed her school was in Scotland.

He finally asked her about it in one letter and she said that her friend Colin had family in Brighton, and she simply asked them to forward her letter to Harry from there because the mail service to her school was 'iffy'.

That made no sense to Harry, but he wasn't going to question it. He'd mapped out where the house in Brighton was that he was addressing the letters to in the library, and it certainly wasn't to a school.

He didn't see why she would be lying to him about it though.

When summer came around again 'Ginny' promised that she would find some way to get her 'parents' to let her come and see him, and then maybe they could manage to spend the day together before she had to go back to Devon.

As the summer went on though, he didn't believe it was going to happen. He missed her terribly, but he did have friends at Stonewall now. Mostly they just hung out at school, but they still didn't know his whole story like she did.

It was his thirteenth birthday when he heard her voice again. "Happy Birthday to you," her voice sang quietly.

Harry looked up from pruning his Aunt's rose bush and saw her standing on the other side of the white picket fence. She had grown, her face had filled out slightly and that determined look she'd always had in her eye, the one that had given her the tough girl expression, had given way to a twinkle. She really was Ginny now, not Jenny.

Harry couldn't help but think for a moment that he was simply letting his imagination get away from him. When she continued singing the birthday song he let the shear's fall out of his hand and came around the fence, pulling her into a tight hug.

Ginny's arms came around him too.

"I missed you," he said into her hair, noticing that it smelled wonderful.

"I missed you too," she stepped back from him and her bright eyes narrowed with a look of worry. "They still aren't feeding you enough," she tugged lightly at his baggy shirt.

"Luckily this look seems to be coming into style though," he offered lamely. He didn't need to pretend with her like he did with the others at school.

"Ginny," a deep voice called to her from the man leaning against the neighbors fence.

"Charlie," she told Harry, "he's my second eldest brother."

Charlie came over and held a hand out to Harry, which Harry took and looked the broad man over. "I can actually see some resemblance."

"Are you telling me I look mannish?" Ginny teased.

"Yep," Harry picked up off her tone. "Mannish and burly, that's you in a nutshell."

Ginny laughed and linked her arm through his. "Come on," she told him, "we're taking you for a birthday lunch. Going to Moe's diner and you can order whatever you want, plus a milkshake."

"But I've got to finish my chores," he looked back at where he'd left the shears.

"Then you can do it on a full stomach for once," she told him insistently.

"Do they really never feed you properly?" Charlie asked.

Harry gave a sigh. It had always sounded farfetched, no matter who heard the story. His Aunt would simply tell anyone that asked about his health that he was a growing boy and sometimes he could be incredibly picky about what he would eat. That, or that he simply gained his eating habits from her side of the family, considering the size of her husband and child in comparison. It wasn't hard to look thin around those two.

At the diner Charlie regaled him with the story of finding out what had happened to Ginny and the day that she'd come back into their lives. He'd also told Harry that Ginny had instantly had each and every one of her brothers and her dad wrapped around her finger.

Ginny simply smiled up at her brother and eventually gave him a shove so that the two of them could have the booth to themselves to chat for a bit while Charlie had a coffee at the counter and flirted with the waitress.

"So, it's all real," Harry said morosely.

Ginny didn't look offended by how he might have been second guessing it all, it was rather fantastical after all. "It's all real," she nodded. She reached across the table and took his hand, grasping him at the wrist and sort of measuring it with her thumb and middle finger.

"Harry," she started, "I think you need to report your relatives."

"What?" he gave a start.

"They aren't feeding you properly, you're horribly underweight for your age and I can tell that you're favoring one side more than the other."

"Jen-Ginny," he stated her name quietly, hoping that that alone would be enough to make her stop.

"Harry," she replied warningly. "I'm worried about you. I think you should talk to a Social Services worker."

"I thought you were here to celebrate my birthday and catch up," he pointed out, not wanting sympathy, he just wanted to spend time with his friend whom he missed.

"I do. But I would also like to be able to stop in and see you again for your next birthday and find that you've turned into a rather dashing lad that might be capable of playing a round of football."

Harry looked down at the plate of chips in front of him and moved them around on his plate, trying to keep his emotions in check. Sometimes it had felt like she was the only person that cared about him, and he wasn't worthy of it now. She had a family and a life that was far far away from Privet Drive.

"I've asked someone to look in on you," she said quietly.

"What?!" he asked astounded.

"The lady that came to take me to my family last year. I've asked her to look in on your Aunt and Uncle and make sure that they were treating you right."

"Je-Ginny! That could really come back and bite me in the ass," he said, astounded at her audacity. "If they think that I'm the one that called Social Services on them then everything could get so much worse for me!"

"How?" She demanded. "Would they feed you even less? Beat you even more? It's all just more material for the _next_ time Social Services comes around." She grabbed his hands again desperately. "You'd be better off somewhere else. _Anywhere_ else."

He grit his teeth as he tried to stop his chin from quivering. Ginny came around to his side of the booth and wrapped her arms around him, letting him go slightly when he started at the pressure she put on his side, there was a bruise healing there.

"They're at your house right now," she said quietly.

"What?" he asked into her hair.

"Part of my birthday present to you," she whispered.

He barely managed to eat anything more as they simply sat beside each other, leaning on each other, for the next hour, when Charlie came over and told them it was time to head back.

Ginny held Harry's hand when they approached the house and saw that a black sedan was parked in front of the drive. He could hear his uncle yelling from inside, his Aunt tittering away and making excuses. Through the opened door Harry could see that his 'bedroom' door was open; the closet under the stairs had been his bedroom for as far back as he could remember.

The Social Worker introduced herself to Harry when she saw him, Susan Pierce, she seemed nice enough. She told Harry to say goodbye to his friends and wait in the car while she gathered up his meager belongings from his cupboard, not wanting him to have to go back inside 4 Privet Drive ever again.

"You'll write me again once you get settled?" Ginny asked. "I'm not above writing directly to Social Services to track you down."

"Thank you, _Ginny_," he said, leaning his forehead down on hers. Knowing that he didn't have to go back to that horrible home again had pulled an enormous weight off of him.

"Hopefully you'll get placed with a family out in the country," she said optimistically.

"Maybe somewhere out in Devon?" he said playfully, it was where he knew her family home was.

She pulled back and gave him a sad smile, "my family already have more mouths to feed than most fosters. But it would be great if you were placed somewhere near me."

After one more hug they parted ways. Harry got into the back of the sedan and Ginny began walking down the road with her brother. Harry watched as the two of them went down a little alleyway by the corner store, one that had a dead end. He looked carefully down the alley when Miss Pierce drove past but didn't see them in there.

()()()

Ginny lowered herself close to the broom and focused all her energy on getting to the snitch. It was amazing to her how easily she took to flying. It was second nature to her from the moment her brothers handed her a broom. Of course, at the time she'd thought they were simply messing with her since all of magic was an entirely new concept.

Her first year at Hogwarts she wasn't even allowed to try out for the Quidditch Team, but at that point too she only had a basic understanding of the game and next to no time spent on a broom. The twins had been quick to rectify that by taking her up with them during term, then playing two a side with she and Ron almost every day over the past summer.

Now she was the Gryffindor Seeker.

Playing the Chaser looked way more fun, but she was willing to bide her time as a Seeker until that position came available. She was still on a broom and up in the air anyhow.

It had also earned her a certain amount of popularity, which was cool. Her first year the story had circulated of her kidnapping and how she'd been raised as a Muggle until three weeks before term started. That had rather endeared her to the Muggleborns immediately.

It had also come out that the most likely culprit for her abduction was Draco Malfoy's mother. There was no proof, however. It was only circumstantial evidence that came from the fact that she'd had a miscarriage a few weeks before and had been admitted to St. Mungo's hospital a few days after Ginny's disappearance due to hysteria and postpartum depression. No one had really seen her since she'd been released from the hospital eleven years ago. The speculation had all simply added to the animosity between the Weasley's and the Malfoy's.

Ginny's fingers clasped around the snitch, securing the victory for Gryffindor against Slytherin.

The Slytherin team was a joke. The only reason Malfoy was on it was because he had bought his way on, and the fact that she had out-flown him on a broom that was at least a decade older than his shiny one had proven that fact.

That night the whole of Gryffindor did some celebrating in the tower. Her best friend at school, Colin, was nudging her extra hard when Neville congratulated her on a good job. She blamed Colin for being the one to fill her head with all the fanciful stories he'd read about the Boy-Who-Lived on their first train ride to Hogwarts.

Colin was boarder line obsessed with Neville, and it had rubbed off on her.

Neville was cute, he was quiet, and he was nice to her. He was nice to everyone, so she really didn't need to be blushing so hard simply because he was nice to her though.

She escaped up to her dorm room and lay on her bed, pulling out the letter that had arrived from Harry that morning that she hadn't had the frame of mind to open earlier because of her nerves about her first Quidditch game. Now though she tore it open.

Colin's parents had been kind enough to be the go between for she and Harry writing to each other. The Creevey's had gotten an owl on their first trip with Colin to Diagon Alley so that they could keep in touch with their son. She was very grateful that they'd kept sending her Muggle friends letters along every week.

Harry was doing amazingly she was happy to see. He'd been placed with a family a little outside of Torquay, which wasn't too far away from where her family home was. It would be much easier to convince one of her brothers to take her to see him next summer.

Harry was living on a ranch now and having a great time 'earning his keep' learning how to deal with the large animals. The Foster parents were nice to him and they were known to take in cases such as his, kids later in life that had been beat down or neglected, but were on the straight and narrow, putting in effort at school. They'd showed him the ropes and given him freedom that he'd never experienced before. He'd looked up his parents for the first time ever and discovered that they were fairly well known artists in some circles, they weren't simply dead beats like his Aunt and Uncle had told him.

James Potter the sculptor and Lily Evans-Potter the painter were Harry's parents, and Harry's inquiry about them had turned up one of their friends in the arts world that was eager to get to know Harry a bit. It was an art curator at a studio in Brighton named Sirius Black. Harry said that he'd talked to him on the phone and Sirius had almost sounded like he was crying on the other end when he realized who Harry was and why he was calling.

Ginny was so happy for Harry, and she couldn't wait to see him again and see how much better he was going to look after a year of being fed and treated properly.

()()()

"Would you stop strumming your fingers on the table?" Harry asked him. He'd been doing it off and on for nearly ten minutes, which was how long they'd been waiting at the seaside café.

"I can't help it," Sirius said excitedly. "I'm finally going to meet her."

Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes.

In the last eight months Sirius had been coming out to Torquay once a month to take Harry on an outing. One time they went to the BioDome, another time Harry took him horseback riding, they'd gone to the movies a few times. Sirius had quickly become the uncle Harry had never had.

The Sullivan's, Harry's foster parents, were perfectly okay with Harry going on these outings. Sirius had been thoroughly vetted and had no problem giving them a police check when they'd asked. The Sullivan's had only been doing their part to ensure Harry's safety, and Sirius was more than willing to comply, unfortunately he didn't have the ability to take Harry in permanently though because of his bachelor living space and lack of familial relation.

It had really touched Harry that he now had two people unrelated to him like Sirius and Ginny that were willing to go to certain lengths to spend time with him and be a part of his life.

"This is the girl that is responsible for you getting away from the Dursley's. If she hadn't have done that then we might never have met," Sirius knew the story. He'd been surprised when he'd heard it the first time, not just of her calling Social Services on the Dursley's, but about how she'd been kidnapped as a baby and found by her family again when she was eleven. It was a surprising story.

Then Harry saw her walking towards them. She was a bit taller and starting to get the slight curve to her that girls get over the years, her hips slightly wider than her waist. She had a fitted vest on and a pair of sunglasses she'd moved up from her face to sit on the top of her head, her ponytail swinging behind her and she walked quickly towards him.

"Is that her?" Sirius asked. "Damn, you didn't say she was a looker," he nudged Harry's elbow good naturedly.

Harry ignored Sirius though as he stood up and rushed towards her, the both of them throwing their arms around each other in a tight embrace.

"You look amazing!" Ginny gushed in his ear, not slackening her hold on him.

"I missed you so much," Harry told her, holding her equally as tight. A loud cough sounded, and Harry finally pulled back from her. "Ginny, this is Sirius," he introduced, "Sirius, Ginny."

Ginny kept her arms around him as she looked over at Sirius, "nice to meet you. Harry's mentioned you in his letters."

"And he's told me plenty about you," Sirius told her, taking her offered hand and bringing it to his lips rather than simply shaking it.

Ginny giggled, then stepped back, turning her attention entirely to Harry. "Alright, I want to get a proper look at you. Give us a twirl," she beamed, circling her finger in the air.

Harry blushed, but complied to her request, doing a slow turn.

"Damn, you look quite good with some meat on your bones," Ginny teased and tugged at the bottom of his t-shirt. "And clothes that fit as well." She turned her eyes up to his showing her sincerity, "You look great, Harry."

He felt himself blush even deeper. He'd been filling out alright. No one could count his ribs when he took off his shirt, and he was much less shy about his body now. Before when he had to change for gym class he would do what he could to hide himself, now he was much more confident. He looked just the same as all the other boys. No malnutrition or bruises to hide anymore, and if there were bruises it was because of an incident on the Ranch, not because he'd gotten hit.

He'd grown taller as well and was sure he still had a few inches left to go in the next few years. Ginny was nearly as tall as he was.

He couldn't help but think that Sirius was right, she was a looker. And he could see that her toughened exterior had given way even more in the last year. But when they'd met up last year she'd also been planning to change his life, so that might have had something to do with how she'd held herself.

"No brothers today?" Harry asked, looking around for a burly ginger bodyguard.

She pointed towards the beach, "They got distracted by girls in bikini's."

Harry covered his eyes and squinted in the direction she was pointing. There were two gangly and identical red heads chatting up a few girls that were laying out in the sun.

"Fred and George?" he asked.

"Yep," Ginny grinned. "Now let's catch up. I've been craving a chocolate milkshake for ages."

They managed to meet up a few times over the summer, always in Torquay, though she said she'd love to visit the Ranch, and he wanted to see the hobby farm she lived on with her family, the logistics just never worked out. Instead every other weekend they managed to make it to the beach and go for walks or swims and simply be together until it was time for her to head back to her boarding school.

()()()

"You never mention anything about your female friends," Harry said.

They'd met up several times this summer, and there were only a few weeks left before she had to go back to school. She was heading into her fourth year at Hogwarts and was back in Devon with her family for the summer. Every time she managed to meet up with Harry she thanked fate that he was placed with a family not too far away from her newly discovered own.

If only Harry was a wizard though.

He was still her best friend, despite the distance between him for the majority of the year. They still wrote to each other constantly, and she'd found out that one of the Chasers on the Gryffindor team lived in Torquay and Ginny was welcome to use her Floo so she didn't need to wait on her brothers to Apparate her when she wanted to meet up with Harry.

He still didn't know anything about her being a witch, and she wished she could tell him. Her having grown up in the Muggle world had helped her hide it easily. If her brothers attempted to carry on a conversation with Harry he would have had a few questions, the lot of the Weasley's were terrible when it came to blending in with Muggles, even her dad who worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifact's Department at the Ministry would ask her all sorts of pointless questions, his eyes glowing with fascination.

"Well, the girls in my year are nice and all, I just hit it off better with the boys I guess," she shrugged. Colin Creevey was still her best school friend, she did get on with the girls on the Gryffindor team, they were just several years older than her. "They're all starting to ask me questions though," she admitted awkwardly. "Apparently because I'm surrounded by boys all the time I'm supposed to have 'that kind' of experience with them."

"And you don't yet?" Harry asked her awkwardly.

"What?!" she asked astounded. "No. I would have written to you about it if I had a boyfriend at some point." She paused a moment. "Do you have any experience with girls?" she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Harry gaufed, "yeah right."

"Yeah right what?" she asked. "You're a good-looking guy, smart, nice, you know how to wrangle a bull and milk a cow, what more could a girl want?" she snickered.

Harry started laughing along with her and gave her a shove. "You really think I'm good-looking?" he asked nervously.

Ginny gave him a thorough looking over, even went so far as to circle around him and put her hand to her chin in contemplation. Harry let her do it, rolling his eyes. "Yeah. I'd say you're rather heading into the direction of a hottie. It helps that you've got this wild hair of yours," she reached up and ruffled his hair herself.

"Thanks," he deadpanned. "You don't need me to assure you of your good looks?" he gave her a wry smile and cocked an eyebrow.

"Nope, I'm good," she grinned and leaned on the railing of the pier, looking down over the water. After a moment she turned her gaze to him and saw he was simply shaking his head at her confidence. "Alright then, tell me I'm beautiful."

His gorgeous green eyes turned to her and she felt a slight flush come to her cheeks. The same feeling she got whenever Neville would look at her. It confused her for a moment, she shouldn't be feeling that for Harry, he was her friend.

"The only thing that's missing," Harry started, "is a bin lid."

The both of them howled with laughter. "Jenny Smith, here to def-" she started, raising her hand in a salute, but then paused.

She called herself Jenny Smith. She hadn't done that in a while.

Harry noticed the abrupt change in her. "Hey," he pulled her against him for a hug. "You'll always be part Jenny to me you know."

"It's just been a while since I thought about it," she admitted resting her face on his chest. He'd grown even taller in the last year. Turning her head she lay her ear above his heart and listened to the beats. It was calming to hear.

"Remember a moment ago when you were asking me about boys?" she chuckled, wanting to get back to lighter subject matter.

"Yes, and you are still woefully inexperienced."

"I wouldn't use the term 'woefully'," she defended, pulling her head back and looking up at him. He was so close to her then, his face turned down so he could look at her. Without thinking she rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.

Only a split second passed before Harry tugged her tighter to him as he pressed his lips firmly back against hers.

It was no more than that. A simple touching of their lips together but it felt lovely and made her head spin slightly. Then she realized what she was doing and pulled back, staring at him with wide eyes, a blush coming to her cheeks.

"Now I really wouldn't use the term 'woefully'," she joked quietly, trying to school her nerves by turning to humor.

Harry nodded, biting his lower lip and let his hold on her slacken until he pulled away and the two of them moved back to rest their elbows on the railing side by side.

They let the awkwardness settle between them, making light conversation until it was time for her to go. They hugged once more and Ginny chastised herself all the way back to Alicia's home for potentially ruining things between them.

As soon as she got home she wrote him a letter, begging forgiveness for what she'd done and pleading that she didn't want it to make things weird between them.

()()()

"So, I'll see you in September," Neville said to her.

"Yeah, have a good summer," she grinned at him. Ginny was rather proud of herself for how she'd gotten over her crush on Neville. He was a good guy, but she realized it was all just hero worship that had made her fancy him in the first place. If only it hadn't taken her over four years to realize that. He was her friend now, and she was happy about it.

She did not expect that letting her guard down around him would in turn make him begin to fancy her. And she should have been a little quicker to step away from him now.

But she was distracted by the sight of her mum and dad coming into view on the platform to collect she and Ron and didn't catch that Neville was ducking his head towards her until he had succeeded in his mission to kiss her.

Ginny stood there in shock as Neville planted one on her.

She could feel his lips on hers, but nothing else to indicate that she should be kissing him back. There was no fluttering in her belly, no urge to close her eyes and press her own lips back against his. Only the thought that that was three boys now that she'd kissed.

Harry was the first, thankfully their strong friendship seemed to have been able to move past that and there hadn't been any awkwardness between them every time they'd met up the previous summer. Then there was Michael Corner, who she'd thought she might have been able to get on with, which was why she'd said 'yes' when he asked her to Hogsmeade and let him kiss her at the end of the date. It had been a nice enough kiss, but the boy turned out to be a ponce.

Now Neville was kissing her, and she'd let it go on for entirely too long considering she wasn't interested. Five seconds was an inordinate amount of time for her to have stood there frozen waiting for him to take a step back. Her hand came up and she brought it to his chest to push him away.

"I'm sorry," she managed. "I'm not. It's just."

"Oh," he cottoned on. "Oh, I thought you."

"I did," she admitted, "it's just that. Now, I don't really think of you that way."

"Oh," he said, defeated. "Oh, well, erm. Have a good summer then." Quickly he picked up his bags and hurried away from her.

Ginny looked over and saw that her mother was looking at her with raised eyebrows. With a sigh, Ginny secured her bag to her shoulder and headed over to her group. Ron was still saying goodbye to his girlfriend, apparently sticking his tongue down her throat the whole ride back to London hadn't been enough.

"Something you want to tell us?" her mum asked.

"Apparently I give out mixed signals," Ginny sighed.

"Not interested in him anymore?" she asked knowingly.

Ginny was grateful that her dad was at least pretending he wasn't listening. "No," she admitted. "I think he and I are just friends."

"Alright then," she hugged her close and kissed the top of her head.

It had taken a while for Ginny to get used to being cuddled by her parents, her father in particular since all of her foster dad's had been sure to keep a certain amount of physical distance between them. But the Weasley's were a physically affectionate family, even her brothers had been quick to give her a hug at every opportunity from day one. Arthur Weasley always let her come to him, then he would put his all into embracing her.

"When do you plan to meet up with Harry?" he asked, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"He's taking part in some kind of Horse Show this week. I was wondering if I might be able to convince someone to go with me," she said hopefully.

Harry had really been getting into being a Farm hand at the Sullivan's Ranch. His letters were full of all the work he was doing with the larger animals and how he was really keen on being a Large Animal Veterinarian when he was done with secondary.

"Will they have food?" Ron asked, coming up behind her.

"All sorts," she grinned. Ron was of age and had gone for his Apparation test, so he could take her to the show no problem. He'd met Harry a few times as well and the two of them had gotten on. Of course, you hand Ron anything to eat and he's happily distracted and not asking any stupid questions relating to the Muggle things going on around him.

Two days after she'd gotten home she was standing in her Wellingtons and watching Harry brush down a horse that was about to go into the stadium. She'd donned an appropriate hat and thought she was blending in just fine with those around her.

Ron was distracted with a big serving of fish and chips and was sitting in the stands, not watching her appreciate the sight of her best friends broad shoulders and lovely ass in the fitted jeans he was wearing as he handed the reigns of the horse over to the rider.

Admittedly she was rather in shock at the sight of him dressed up like this. He looked really rugged, and just all around… delicious. Her mouth actually felt dry. Then she noticed a few other girls in the area that were also giving him appreciative looks and felt a blaze of jealously shoot through her.

Licking her lips she squared her shoulders back, trying slightly to let her chest stand out a bit more, before walking over to him.

"Hey Cowboy," she greeted, trying to keep a humorous lilt to her intentionally seductive greeting.

Harry looked over at her and his jaw slackened in surprise, "Ginny?" he whispered. "Ginny!" he said louder, a big smile stretching across his face. He rushed over to her and picked her up, spinning her around once while they both laughed.

"I wanted to surprise you!" she told him. "You said you'd be here all week and I missed you too much to wait."

"Ginny," he cupped the side of her face. "You just-" then he lowered his head and kissed her.

She instantly responded, clutching at his shoulders and kissing him back. This was everything that Neville's kiss had been missing. All of the feelings swirling around in her belly and the lightheaded dizziness that felt absolutely wonderful.

Neville wasn't Harry. It was as simple as that.

She didn't care that Harry was a Muggle and they only got to see each other two months of the year. She should have realized she liked him like this when she kissed him last summer. He had been more than just a friend for several years now.

"I, mmm," Harry started to pull away, but didn't seem to want to pull his lips away from hers, "I have to work still," he laughed against her lips.

Ginny pulled back, biting her lower lip and giggling. Actually giggling. She couldn't help it, and her hands were shaking from excitement. "I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry."

"Good," he leaned down and kissed her again. "I'm so happy you came to see me."

That summer they spent the bulk of their time together. Most of the time they simply hung around the beach, but he managed to borrow a truck one day and bring her out to the Sullivan's property to show her around.

It was funny. She knew he was their foster kid, but he was really just more of a hired hand. They even started paying him for all the work he did around the farm.

It got awkward when he said he could drive her home though. The Burrow would look entirely strange to him. It was held up by magic, how was she supposed to explain why the lopsided structure wasn't in peril of toppling over?

She couldn't think of a single logical reason for him to not drive her home though. 'Sorry. My house is clearly magical and it would be too much of a give away for you to see it,' wasn't going to fly. So, she let him drive her and hoped for the best.

"Huh," was all he said when he saw the rickety structure.

She brought him by the hand to the animal shed and her mum came out to meet him finally, bringing them lemonade and biscuits, and Harry simply didn't ask about the 'funny' aspects of the Weasley homestead.

()

"Why do you have to go to boarding school," Harry asked, his hand coming up her side under her shirt, his mouth had just been fastened to her neck.

"Mmm, family tradition apparently," she moaned, appreciating his efforts in making her brain go fuzzy.

This was their last night together before she had to catch the Hogwarts Express back to school the next day and they were trying to make the most of it. They'd found a secluded spot along the beach to let their hands and mouths wander all over each other.

All summer they'd been getting more and more adventurous with each other, stopping before they went too far.

She was really going to miss his hands on her through the year, but they'd decided they were going to try and stick it out long distance. He'd asked if there was a phone number he could call to at least talk to her once and a while, but there wasn't.

She had claimed that even if he did manage to call through to the Headmaster's office, by the time someone tracked her down he'd have to run off and assist birthing a calf or something. It was feeble at best, but he wasn't prying.

Ginny had told him what her school was like, that it was a castle in Scotland and they had fun extra curricular classes like Botany (Herbology) and Astronomy. She simply left out all of the magic, or the fact that she played a sport and was keen on the idea of playing it professionally. She wasn't happy about having to hide her true heritage from him, but they were spending less and less time talking these days anyway.

"You think that if we both wound up staying in Surrey and going to Stonewall that we'd be doing this right now?" he asked, his hand boldly cupping her breast under her shirt while he lowered his mouth to nip and kiss along the side of her neck.

"We'd probably have done much more than this by now," she answered, giving a little rock forward of her hips.

Harry groaned and moved his hand to her hip to stop her doing that again, "dangerous move Weasley."

"I know," she pouted wistfully. Sex was something that had been on her mind a lot lately, but she was only just sixteen, and they'd technically only been together for two months. As much as she wanted to, it was too soon.

She could feel that he wanted to as well. His interest in that had been very obvious whenever they'd been snogging for more than a few minutes.

"Can I," she started, his head coming up and his green eyes locking on hers. She gave a swallow. This was Harry, she assured herself, you can ask him anything. She couldn't form the words though, instead her hand trailed down to the button on his jeans and she heard his breath hitch.

He didn't stop her though. She pulled his zipper down and slowly slipped her hand under his boxers, her eyes widening with how large he felt.

That was supposed to be able to fit…

She felt herself clench between her legs at the thought. She gripped him properly and started gliding her hand up and down. He was still leaning over her and she watched as his eyes slid closed and his jaw went slack with her movements.

Every pant of breath from him she took as a sign of encouragement and kept up her movements until he made a few small grunting sounds and thrust into her hand sharply, spilling himself onto her forearm.

Harry sucked in a few deep breaths while Ginny tried to calm her racing heart. She couldn't believe she'd just done that, nor how thrilling it was for her to have touched him like that and brought him to completion.

She turned her head to the side and looked at her bag, reaching over with one hand she almost grabbed her wand to clean up the mess he'd made, but remembered herself and took out a napkin she'd tucked in there from their ice cream earlier.

"Ginny," he whispered heavily, "can I?"

He had come to lay beside her, and his hand was flat against her stomach, and lowering infinitesimally towards her own jean button. His eyes were boring into hers, he seemed rather desperate to return the favor.

She nodded, willing herself to relax as his fingers came lower and lower against her skin. The simple pressure of his palm against her under her knickers was making her eyes close from the pleasure. It didn't matter to her that he was fumbling a bit, seemingly unsure of what it was he should be doing, it only made it feel more right. She was the first girl he was doing this with, the only one he'd been intimate with.

"Ginny," he asked quietly, looking for guidance.

She put her hand down her jeans as well, over top of his, the restriction of the material making him press harder against all the right places. She gasped silently as his fingers pressed against that special spot just between her folds. Her back arched as his fingers circled around it and she was only able to register the feelings shooting through her and his breath coming out hot against the side of her face.

She removed her hand from her jeans and Harry's fingers slipped lower, dipping inside her properly. The both of them let out a moan at that, Harry let out a string of expletives and buried his face in her neck, Ginny started rocking her hips against his fingers, stars shooting off behind her eyes.

Her hand went back to her clit as his two fingers kept moving inside her. This was all rather foreign sensations to her, but as the desperation to find her climax mounted she was caring less and less about how this was Harry that was touching her and that they were essentially doing it in public.

Unable to control the sounds coming out of her mouth Harry had to cover her lips with his own and she cried out her finish, gasping for breath as she kept clenching around his fingers before finally relaxing back against the ground beneath her.

"Whoa," Harry let out.

"Yeah," she agreed.

()()()

Ten months. That was a long time to go without seeing your girlfriend. Particularly when you had just started getting intimate with her.

By the second half of the school year their letters to each other were getting incredibly racy and he'd spent most of his evenings with his hand down his pants imagining it was hers. He was desperate to see her face and hear her voice.

That was why he drove out to 'The Burrow', as she'd called it, to be there to greet her when her parents brought her home.

He had arrived there before they did and went for a small wander around the property. As a farm hand it was second nature to him to check the animals. He didn't go into the house though, he knew that that would be crossing a line. He didn't want to be coming out of the house as they were driving up, that would look bad.

Harry grabbed a basket outside the chicken shed and collected eggs, he had already looked over their two pigs for anything that might possibly be distressing them. He hadn't mentioned it to Ginny yet, but he'd been accepted into a Large Animal Veterinary Program in Glasgow and had managed to get several scholarships to cover his fee's and living costs in the dormitory. He'd had to tell the story of his life before the Sullivan's and how much he'd learned from his foster family, but it had all been worth the invasion of privacy in the end.

The sound of a car rumbling down the drive suddenly gave him a jolt. He'd expected to hear their approach long before that.

A car door opened before he'd gotten out of the chicken shed. "Harry?!" her voice called out.

He was already grinning widely when he came out of the shed and put the basket of eggs down before he hopped the low fence and ran towards her.

"Harry!" She screeched in excitement and flung herself at him, her long hair swinging wildly behind her.

"Oh, I missed you," he nearly cried. It felt so wonderful to have her in his arms again.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming out here?" she asked, pulling back from him with tears in her eyes.

"I wanted to surprise you," he said, wiping her tears with the pad of his thumbs.

"You succeeded," she told him, reaching up on her toes to give him a watery kiss. "I missed you," she mumbled against his lips.

"I missed you," he mumbled back, linking his fingers together behind her back to lift her up against him tighter.

"We missed you too, Harry," her brother Ron called out mockingly from the other side of the car.

Harry and Ginny both started chuckling at that and pulled apart to see that the three others that had been in the car with her were watching the reunion with looks of amusement.

"Were you wanting me to greet you the same way?" Harry quipped.

"No thanks, I've got a girlfriend," Ron grinned and went around to collect his trunk from the boot.

"Mum, I'm going to take a walk with Harry," Ginny said and tugged on his hand.

"Dinner in an hour, and Harry dear, you'll stay for that, won't you?" Mrs. Weasley invited.

"I'd love to!" he called behind him as Ginny pulled him along. "I collected a few eggs for you!" he managed to shout back to them before the two of them were out of sight.

Ginny tugged harder and pulled him into a run, laughing with delight and heading towards the pond at the back of the property. Once they were completely out of sight in a semi-private area she turned to face him and pulled her top over her head.

Harry gaped, he'd had many dreams that started out this way.

She'd developed over the year. He licked his lips as he came forward, instinctively reaching out to cup her breasts over her bra. "Ginny," he whispered. She did no more that give him this look in her eye that was begging him to continue right on touching her.

Apparently, he was going too slow though, because her hands shot out and pulled him flush against her, tugging on his shirt to pull it over his head as well.

"We, mister, are going to pick up right where we left off last summer," she told him breathlessly as they pawed at each other.

"You saying you missed my fingers?" he teased, tracing them down between her legs.

"I'm saying I want your mouth on me," she told him boldly.

Harry groaned and they both lay down on the grass. Ginny was quick to take off her shorts and cast them aside so she was only in her bra and knickers, he pulled off his own trousers and lay over top of her, settling between her spread legs and thoroughly enjoying the feeling of less restrictions as his erection pressed against her.

"Fuck," she exclaimed, "I missed you so much." She pulled his lips down to hers.

"Please tell me you weren't just talking when you said you wanted my mouth on you," he begged. They'd written to each other about what they got up to when they were alone in bed and thinking about each other. He'd wondered many times what she would taste like, regretting that he hadn't had nerve enough to give his fingers a lick after that time on the beach.

"I want it," she panted, then took either side of his face so he would look straight at her. "Then I want you to shag me."

His body responded to that before his brain did, thrusting against her almost forcefully and causing her to arch herself against him. "Ginny," he said painfully, "I don't have a condom. I didn't think that-"

"Don't worry about that," she assured him, rocking against him. "I'm on the po- the pill. I knew I wouldn't be able to control myself when I saw you again. Particularly not after that last letter," she grinned.

Harry put his hand between them, sliding it under her knickers and beginning to kiss his way down her body. "Mmm, tell me," kiss, "what part in particular?" lick.

"You, fantasizing about what I'd taste like," she said in a husky voice as his lips kissed just under her belly button. "I've been wondering how you'd taste as well. Thinking about how big you felt in my hand and how much bigger you'll feel inside me."

Harry gave a deep groan, yanking her knickers down and simply burying his face between her legs. He'd read all sorts of articles in his porn mags about how to get a woman taken care of this way. He'd gone so far as to practice the tongue movements that the articles suggested.

He was so desperate to get inside her that he had to mentally attempt to cool himself so that he would actually get the chance to last long enough to get her off before he came. He pulled his face back and looked at her, saw what it was he'd be working his tongue over. He'd seen pictures, but to have the real thing right in front of him, he was fascinated.

He used two fingers to spread her lips apart and came forward, pressing his tongue firmly against her clit before moving it around in a circular motion. Ginny's heavy breathing above him was telling him he was doing this right.

Think, Harry, what are you supposed to do next? He inhaled the scent of her. She didn't smell sweet or sour or any of the other scents that he'd read women tasted like, it was a scent unto its own, and it smelled comforting. It was a strange description, but that's the only way he could describe it. She smelled of comfort.

As she started rolling her hips with his tongue movements he brought a hand up under his chin and pushed one finger inside her, just a little. Her gasp let him know how much she liked that. He added another finger.

She was so hot and wet there, he knew he would be able to push another finger inside her too, but then she might not feel as tight when he got the chance to slide the more eager part of his anatomy in there, hopefully rather soon.

"Fuck!" she cried out and bucked hard against his face, his fingers slipping out of her from the movement. There was an extra bit of moisture he felt coating his chin and letting him know that she'd just finished.

He kept up his tongue movements, going slower now as she came back down to earth.

"Ginny?" he asked, pleadingly, his erection had grown almost painful.

"Yes," she nodded, not needing him to ask anything more.

He climbed back up her body, shifting his boxers down as he went. He braced his arms on either side of her and they locked eyes as her hand gripped the full length of him, guiding him inside her.

It was so tight. He pushed himself into her slowly, centimeter by centimeter, thoroughly enjoying the amount of pressure and heat that was surrounding every bit of his erection and waiting to feel that bit of resistance that girls have.

He didn't get any resistance though and he was completely inside her. He gave her a quizzical look. "Did you? Was there," this wasn't exactly what he wanted to be worried about in this moment. He was having sex for the first time, but he'd thought she was too.

Her face turned bright red, and not due to the activity. "I may have gotten a little carried away when reading your letters," she admitted.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "You mean you," he couldn't finish it. She'd masturbated to the point of breaking her own hymen, because of something he'd written to her. That was so hot. He started moving in and out of her, his body taking charge of the situation and forcing his brain to shut off.

Ginny gripped his hips and met his thrusts.

He tried to hold out, wanting to get her again and feel her cum around him, but it felt to fucking fantastic and his orgasm was ripping through him before he could stop it. His whole body reacted as though it had just had an electrical shock as he jerked on top of her, his toes curled and mouth agape at the sensation.

"Holy fuck," he gasped as he came down from the high like a feather floating back down to earth. "I'm sorry," he apologized between gasping breaths, "I wanted to get you again, but."

She ran a hand down his back. "Don't apologize. I still liked it, and I promise I'll let you try again a few times this summer."

He could hear her wide grin in her tone.

"That can't have been comfortable for you," he realized pulling back. She was on the hard ground, not a soft mattress.

"I'm okay," she assured him. "But maybe we should at least pull our underthings on and go for a little swim," she tilted her head towards the pond.

"Yeah," he grinned, groaning pleasurably at the feeling of himself withdrawing from her. "That felt a million times better than I could have imagined."

"It didn't hurt as much as I'd worried it would," she admitted.

He tugged his boxers on and watched as she pulled up her knickers. "Did you really accidentally break your hymen because of something I wrote to you?" he asked, feeling proud.

"I'd really rather not tell you the full extent of what I get up to when I'm alone and missing you," she said with a bright face.

"I've heard things about hairbrush handles," he waggled his eyebrows at her. She blushed brighter and he knew he was right.

They both dipped into the water and she wrapped her legs around him while they floated. "I got into Glasgow," he told her. "Full ride."

"What?!" her eyes went wide with excitement. "That's amazing! Congratulations." She wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"I know it's still a little far from your school, but maybe we can actually meet up during the year?"

Ginny bit her lip while she stared at him, the gears turning in her head. "I could probably spend my Christmas break there," she realized, grinning ear to ear. "Maybe you'll even have your dorm room to yourself that whole time," she said in a sultry voice, intentionally puffing out her chest to press her breasts against him more.

"That would be fantastic," he breathed out. It would mean nearly two weeks of it just being the two of them. Waking up beside her, trying out the whole 'uni life, living on Poundland groceries, and shagging at every opportunity while the BBC plays on the telly in the corner.'

"Have you told Sirius yet?" she asked.

Sirius was still maintaining a pretty active role in Harry's life, but now that Harry was working more and behaving like a teenager less their opportunities to meet up didn't occur as often, but they did chat on the phone regularly.

"I have, and he's offered to drive me to school."

"That's great," she breathed out. It didn't sound like she meant it though, her face was turning red and she looked on the verge of crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "This is a good thing."

"I know," she said, a tear escaping down her face. "I'm sorry. These are happy tears, I promise," she sniffled. "It's just that. Well, everything has really turned around for you. I'm just so bloody happy that you're doing so well."

"And it's all because of you," he said, kissing her soundly until the tears went away.

Eventually they got out of the pond. Harry gave a quick look around to make sure none of the other Weasley's were in sight before he shed his boxers to wring them out. Ginny was grinning at the sight of him naked and he returned the favor by giving her a good looking over while she bent over to pick up her shorts.

"What's that?" he asked, seeing a stick poking out of her pocket.

"It's one of those hair things," she told him. "You know, accessories," she shrugged.

He knew what she meant, those chopstick things that some girls were walking around with stuck through their ponytails, but hers didn't look like that. It was more like a stick, or a replica of a Lord of the Rings wand.

She might just be a closeted Lord of the Rings fan, so he didn't pry, he just shook his head and picked up his clothes. They'd be expected back at the house for dinner soon.

Once back he saw that her family had set up the table outside in the garden. More of the Weasley boys had arrived and they all greeted him with a tight handshake. They were all celebrating Ron's last year at school before he went out into the working world and Harry was pleased that they let him join in on the festivities until it grew late and he needed to get started on his hour long drive home.

()()()

Ginny and Harry were squished tightly together in the back seat of Sirius' car. It was the only way that they had managed to fit Harry's belongings and three passengers. Really, she should have been on the Hogwarts Express right then, heading back for her final year, but she'd begged her parent's to simply send her things along to the school, saying that she'd Apparate to Hogsmeade and make her way up to the school after she and Sirius got Harry settled.

This was a huge moment for Harry, and there was no need for her to sit through the sorting ceremony. She'd still be there before curfew. Harry and Sirius believed that she had to catch the 9:00p.m. train to Perth and then was catching a ride with a friend from there.

Their summer together had been fantastic. At every opportunity they'd met up. Harry had stayed at the Sullivan's, even though he'd aged out of foster care, and worked full time all summer as a proper Ranch Hand. His weekends and evenings were free and the two of them had made the most of it. They'd barely been able to keep their hands off each other.

Even now, in the back of the car they were constantly running their hands up and down each other's legs and into their hair, exchanging kisses. All to the point of Sirius saying he'd make one of them get out at the next train stop and find an alternate way to the University.

It was a seven-hour drive, so that wasn't too much of a threat the closer they much as Ginny loved Harry, sitting half in his lap was rather uncomfortable near the end.

They made it to Glasgow in record time and pulled up outside Harry's dorm building. The whole area was a flurry of people and excitement, and Harry seemed rather beside himself and overwhelmed with the situation.

Ginny and Sirius merely handed him a bag and told him to talk to someone and find where his room was while they started grabbing his belongings and followed behind him.

The building was only a few years old and looked very modern. His dorm was a sort of flat share with a large open kitchen and seating area that had two wings on either side with three bedrooms each. Harry's personal bedroom wasn't large, but it was still bigger than Ginny's room at the Burrow, and he had much more privacy than she did in her dorm room at Hogwarts.

It was only two trips back to the car between the three of them, and it didn't seem like any of his other dorm mates were there yet, so Sirius decided they all needed a meal together before he settled in to his hotel room for the night, winking when he mention leaving Harry and she alone for their 'goodbye'.

When they got back to his dorm they could hear that one of his other dorm mates was there, but whom ever it was were shut in their room, so he and Ginny simply went into his and locked the door.

"Do I still have to send my letters to Brighton? Or can I send them directly to the school now we're both in Scotland?" Harry asked as his breathing returned to normal and he came to lay beside her, pulling her against him.

Ginny bit her lip. She should have put more thought into this. It had been six years now that she'd been fielding letters through Colin's mum and dad, and Harry had questioned it before. He's also asked about the exact location of her school and her wand and the structural stability of her parents house and a bunch of other little things that were completely out of place to Muggles.

She was saved from answering though when there was a rap at his door.

"Just a second," Harry called out and they quickly pulled their clothes on. He looked back at her to make sure she was good before he unlocked the door and pulled it open.

Ginny turned to open his suitcase and at least attempt to look like they hadn't just been shagging.

"Hey, mate," the voice at the door greeted him. "Just wanted to introduce myself, wondered if you were interested in… Ginny?"

Ginny turned around in surprise. There wasn't anyone that she knew of that was going to Glasgow University besides Harry. With Harry's shirts clutched in each hand her mouth dropped open as her brain registered that Dean Thomas was standing in Harry's doorway.

"Dean?!" the clothes fell out of her hands and to the floor. "Dean!" she grinned, an astounded laugh coming out of her mouth.

They'd been friendly at school, ran in the same circle of friends and played on the Quidditch team together for two years and he was on in, and he was pretty close with Ron. Not close enough that he'd told Ron what he was up to after Hogwarts apparently, or perhaps Ron simply didn't make the connection.

"Ginny," he too laughed. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts by now?"

Harry's eyebrows went up in surprise. "You went to Hogwarts?" Harry asked him. Aside from Ginny's brothers he hadn't heard of anyone else that went to the school. Then again, most of his friends were either also foster kids, or farm hands like him.

"Yeah!" Dean told him, coming into the room to give her a brief hug. "Oh, mate," he said to Harry. "So relieved I don't have to keep it a secret from everyone here." He turned back to Ginny and she gave a hard swallow, "is this him? He's the reason you turned down Neville?"

"Neville?" Harry asked, cocking a cheeky eyebrow at her. "Still have some competition at your school that I should know about?"

Ginny opened her mouth to tell him 'no', but she didn't get the chance.

"Oh, wouldn't worry about that mate," Dean cut in. "Neville was my dorm mate, doesn't go there anymore. And every attempt someone had made to get with your girl here had been thoroughly rebuffed," he grinned. "Now I have the visual proof as to why."

Ginny cringed a bit. She wasn't keen on Harry thinking that she was getting asked out, not that she was, a lot, just once or twice a year when there was an event or a Hogsmeade visit planned. She was mostly just focused on Quidditch and getting through her NEWTS with out her head exploding from the pressure.

"Dean, this is Harry. Harry this is Dean." Ginny properly introduced.

Dean held out his hand, "I'm an Art student."

"Veterinary," Harry accepted his hand. "Hey, maybe you can assist me with getting letters to her directly this year."

Ginny felt her heart stutter at that.

"Sorry, I don't have an owl," Dean said easily. "But, Ginny, you could still send one of the Hogwarts one's here."

Ginny's eyes closed and she gritted her teeth in response. Whispering one word to him during his greeting hug would have stopped this from coming up.

"An owl?" Harry asked in confusion. "What, they have them trained like carrier pigeons?" he laughed.

"What?" Dean asked, not catching on.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Oh!" Dean realized and turned, wide-eyed, to Ginny. "He doesn't-"

"Nope," she answered shortly.

"I thought you'd been with him for,"

"I have."

"But you still haven't."

"I'm still in school, Dean. That didn't seem like an ideal time to bring it up."

"Ginny, I've heard you mention Harry for as far back as I can remember. From all I've heard from you, and from Ron, he's more than simply your boyfriend," Dean told her honestly.

"What is going on?" Harry asked them both.

"Ginny?" Dean cocked his head at her.

"You don't think I've wanted to tell him? Properly explain away all of the unexplainable he's asked me about over the years?" she threw up her hands.

"Explain what?" Harry asked.

"Look, I won't tell anyone that you told him," Dean assured her. "And I've plenty of experience in fielding questions from Muggle's, I am a Muggleborn after all."

"What's a Muggle?" Harry's patience was wearing thin.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at Dean before biting her lip and casting her gaze between the two men while she mulled it over. She did want to tell Harry, it had been killing her that she'd kept this huge secret from him for so long. It would certainly make things easier when it came to communicating with him.

"You swear you won't turn me in or anything?" she asked Dean for assurance.

"Turn you in?!" Harry asked incredulously. "What the fuck?"

"I promise," Dean told her sincerely.

"Alright," she drew in a deep breath. "Harry," she turned to him. "I'm a witch."

Harry stared at her blankly, as if waiting for the punchline.

"Seriously, Harry," she told him. "All the questions you've had over the years about the little things; why you can't call me at school, why the school doesn't have a direct address, how it is that I never seemed to have a 'ride' to Torquay for our meet-ups. It's all because I'm a witch. Hogwarts doesn't have telephones, nor do they receive Royal Mail. We have our own special ways of transportation as well."

She searched his face to see if he was believing her at all. All she saw was the gears turning behind his eyes and incomprehension.

"Look," she continued. "I didn't find out about it until I was eleven. That's how old you have to be to get accepted to Hogwarts, and the old magic they have to find the magical children,"

"Like me," Dean added humorously, which fell rather flat in the current atmosphere of the small room.

"It was how they realized that I was the missing Weasley girl. That I was Ginny, not Jenny."

"You're a witch," Harry repeated.

"Yes," she told him decisively.

"You're a witch too I suppose then," Harry said to Dean.

"Wizard, actually," Dean told him.

Harry just looked back and forth between the two of them. "What the fuck?" he asked simply.

Dean pulled his wand out of his back pocket and summoned Harry's wallet to him from the Headboard of the bed, on the other side of the room. Harry's mouth fell open as Dean simply held it up.

"What?" Harry kept looking back and forth between where his wallet had been, and where it was now. Then he snatched it out of Dean's hand. "How… you two are serious?"

"Dean, can you leave the 'bonding with your new dorm mate' thing for later? I've got to Apparate to Hogsmeade and get up to the school before curfew." It was already getting on to 7 p.m.

"Can do," he nodded. "And if you decide you want to Obliviate him," he offered.

"No," Ginny managed a strained smile in appreciation of the offer. "But, thank you."

Dean shut the door behind him, and Ginny pulled her wand out of her purse at the foot of Harry's bed.

"You asked me what this was at the start of summer," she began. "It's a wand. I got it when I was eleven and it's what I use to do magic. That's what I learn at Hogwarts. It turns out that my whole family are witches and wizards. Was a dead shock to me when I found out too."

"This. This is real," he managed.

Ginny nodded solemnly, "yes."

"So, you can do what Dean just did? With the levitation thing, or whatever?"

"That was basically child's play," she admitted, and for the next hour she gave him a not too detailed run down of the magical world and what it was she actually learned at school. She told him about Quidditch and about the Statute of Secrecy that she and Dean had just violated. "And that's why I didn't tell you before."

"Were you planning on ever telling me?" he asked seriously.

"Yes," she admitted honestly.

"When?"

There were tingles that shot out through her entire nervous system at that questions, and she could feel the heat rising to her face. She didn't quite know how to tell him that she saw them together in the 'forever' kind of way and was waiting for proof of the possibility of forever before she told him.

"At least once I was done with school," she offered.

"No," he said, drawing out the word in a knowing way that she knew meant he wasn't mad with her about hiding it. "I may not have known you were a witch, but I know when you're hiding something. What was the real answer?"

Ginny sucked in a deep breath and found herself unable to meet his eye. Looking down at her fingernails that were fiddling nervously she muttered, "once I knew we were going to make it."

The silence in the room was deafening to her, drowned out only by the blood pumping in her ears.

"Ginny," Harry said finally, his one hand resting over top of hers and the other coming up to force her attention directly on his face. He was looking at her with complete openness. "You're it for me," he told her firmly. "There's never been anyone else. I've been in love with you years, probably on some level since you first jumped to my defense. I can still picture it perfectly, that blazing look in your eyes when you were taking on my attackers," he grinned widely at her, with all the sincerity behind what he was saying. "I have about a million more questions about this secret world you live in, but I have no questions about whether you and I will be together forever."

"Really?" she asked desperately, with tears starting to well up in her eyes and roll down her cheek as she tried to blink them away.

"Really," he promised and pulled her closer.

()()()

"Hey," Charlie greeted as Harry came to stand by him, handing him another beer he'd brought over from the house.

"Hey," Harry tilted his head at him in thanks before turning his attention back to the field. "I know I've seen it several times already, but it is _still_ so cool to see," he shook his head in awe as he watched his wife of four months play a game of pick-up Quidditch with her brothers and friends.

They were still rather young to have gotten married, he still wasn't done with school, but they'd moved into a flat together in Glasgow as soon as she'd gotten signed by the Holyhead Harpies, an all woman's Quidditch team, and they were able to swing the funds to get a place.

They might have put off getting married until they were a bit older and more prepared by society standards to do so, but a few time's Ginny had used magic in front of him and received a warning owl from the Ministry of Magic. According to them she wasn't allowed to use magic in front of a Muggle unless it was someone that was a part of her immediate family.

So, Harry became a part of her immediate family.

It might have seemed a rather overly simplified solution to the problem, but they loved each other, and they were going to wind up married eventually anyways, so they just did it.

It hadn't been a large ceremony, it had taken place on the beach in Torquay and they'd simply reserved a special room at a restaurant for the thirty people that attended, promising that they would have a larger celebration at some point down the line, perhaps once Harry too had a paying job twelve months of the year, they'd joked.

It had been a lot to take in, the differences between the magical and Muggle world, but there were a surprising number of magical things around their flat that he too was able to use. Like the Floo for instance. It was absolute madness to hop into a fireplace and call out a secret code word for a destination then be suddenly transported there, but he could. And he was secretly desperate for someone to name their house Voyager or Enterprise, not that he was a Trekkie, but he would still find it ridiculously funny. Once he and Ginny got a place he was going to _beg_ her to call it 'Beam Me Up'.

Dean had been really helpful that first year he was at GU. Dean got the magical version of the newspaper and would lend it to Harry so he could read through it and ask questions to get a better understanding of their world.

Harry had been welcomed into the Weasley family with open arms as well, and finally shown the inside of their house. It was no wonder he hadn't been inside before as it was much larger on the inside than it should have been, and there were several 'things' in the house that were self-automated, like the knitting needles and kitchen knives.

He never tired of seeing magic being done, and he and Mister Weasley, or Dad as he preferred to be called, had a sort of trade going on; Dad would ask him something about the Muggle world and Harry would ask something about the Magical world. It was as hilarious to Harry the questions he was asked as it was to Dad the questions Harry asked, because they were just basic everyday things to the other man.

"God, I love her," Harry said aloud as he watched Ginny score another goal past Ron.

"Yeah," Charlie rolled his eyes, "I know."

"Did I ever tell you how we met?" Harry asked with a wry grin. He knew the answer to that, but he never tired of telling the story of meeting his amazing _wife_.

**()()()**

**Prompt- AU, Harry is a Muggle. He and Ginny are childhood best friends, then Ginny goes off to Hogwarts. Neville is the "Boy Who Lived" and Ginny has a small crush on him, yet she and Harry share their series of firsts, eventually falling in love. Harry suspects that Ginny is a witch but doesn't say anything. Ginny pursues a career as a Quidditch Player, Harry becomes a Veterinary student.**

**Anyone else that might want to give me a prompt, go right ahead.**


	22. Content with Teasing

**AN- This is a paired piece to go with the third chapter from this Compilation of Hinny series. Please go back and read 'Creamed Potato' for a nice little refresher. It wasn't a long one, basically Harry needs a wank because he watched Ginny mashing potatoes and the hand gestures were suggestive in his teen brain.**

**I've been asked to take a swing at Ginny's POV.**

**Claiming this one as the DIY smut on the Bingo Card. Deadwoodpecker and Cheerful_Clatter, this is for you, hope I did it justice.**

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**Content With Teasing**

**()()()**

She wasn't entirely sure when it had started. He hadn't paid much attention to her before her fifth year for sure, easily lumping her in with the rest of the school population, despite all her best efforts.

It had grown rather obvious that she wasn't being lumped in with everyone else anymore. The number of times she'd felt his eyes on her, needing to look over at him and confirming that it wasn't simply her imagination, sure enough, yep, he was looking.

He'd been looking more and more. She'd even stood a little out of sight and watched as he _searched_ for her a few times.

Ginny didn't quite know what to do with the fact that he was paying her more attention. She had a boyfriend after all.

A boyfriend that she'd only really gotten as a distraction from the fact that Harry hadn't been at all interested.

Now he was though.

She'd spent too long trying to get over him to let herself get overly excited about him simply looking at her now to let all her progress mean nothing. Perhaps he simply liked her hair, or maybe it was a kind of pitying look. He _had_ forgotten that she'd been possessed in her first year, and he could have simply been trying to make up for it by paying a certain amount of attention to her now.

So, she'd begun testing him. Seeing what his reaction would be to things that she did.

For instance; she'd worn her skirt shorter than usual and without her stockings to see if he'd get that dopey look on his face that guys get when a girl shows skin, which he did. That in itself wasn't enough though. There were a few boys that she caught staring at her legs, including her boyfriend. Unfortunately, Dean thought the extra show of skin was for his benefit and took the opportunity to run his hand up her thigh at breakfast.

Ginny had also seen the Golden Trio entering the Three Broomsticks on the last Hogsmeade visit and made sure to let Harry catch her snogging Dean again. Harry's furrow-browed expression displayed his contempt for what he was seeing, but that could have been because he saw himself as a brother figure to her, and simply didn't want to see it.

What really tipped her off that he was fancying her though was when she took up in a seat by him in the library one evening. Ron and Hermione were off on Prefect duties and she'd simply slid onto the bench beside him and started in on her assignments. Every few minutes she would move… suggestively. It was subtle, a deep breath to puff out her chest here, a raking of her fingers through her hair there, a slight moan as she worked a kink in her neck. She had Harry shifting uncomfortably in his seat and she'd felt victory.

He was certainly not watching her out of some obligation.

After that, well, she started intentionally torturing him a bit.

He had made her feel left out and rejected for several years after all. She could have been his and getting up to all sorts of dirty and nefarious things in broom cupboards for ages now, but he'd made her wait and watch while he pined after Cho bloody Chang, so it was his turn.

She would only be able to keep it up for so long.

Dean really was a nice guy, and she didn't want to string him along, she also didn't exactly recoil at his touch either. He was a really good introduction into a dating life. Michael she'd barely even held hands with, so she didn't count him as a proper boyfriend. But Dean though. It felt really good to snog him. He'd been putting a bit of pressure on her to go further with their relationship than she was prepared to, however. He wanted to put his hand under her shirt and skirt, and those were milestones she had someone else in mind for. Dean also wanted her to touch him, but she didn't.

No, if she was going to put her hand on a boys erection, under or over clothes, for the first time she wanted it to be the one that was subtly being hidden from her in the library two weeks ago. Harry had tried to hide it, but she'd managed to catch a look at the outline of it in his trousers.

That was the one she wanted to touch.

Her thoughts of him had all started out very innocent several years ago. Now though, particularly with all this teasing she was doing to gauge his reactions, now her thoughts of Harry weren't quite so pure.

That was what had led to her doing what she did.

Since they'd been back at the Burrow for the Christmas Holiday the two of them had been required to pass dangerously close to each other on the stairs, sit beside each other during meals and in the sitting room, and every time she was able to subtly touch him she would take the opportunity. Every time it would send a thrill through her and she'd imagine them touching in several different provocative ways.

This right now was by far the most blatantly provocative she'd done around him, and her own desire was swirling around inside her as she caught how Harry was forcing himself to look away, but unable to do so for long. Her family was oblivious, they simply wrote it off as her helping out her mum. But she'd never been so determined to make the mashed potatoes nice and creamy and continue moving her hand up and down in such a steady rhythm.

Managing to keep the knowing smirk off her face was much harder than maintaining her hand movements. Harry was almost breaking out in a sweat across the table from her, and when he excused himself, she saw how his body had reacted. If his shirt was just a little bit shorter she would have been able to see the head of his erection poking out through the waist band of his pajama bottoms where he'd tucked it.

And seeing that nearly made _her_ break out in a sweat.

As soon as he was out of the room, she moved the pot of mashed potatoes to the counter, it was about to have resembled potato soup if she'd gone at it for any longer, and ducked out of the room as well.

The door to the bathroom was closing ahead of her when she ascended the stairs and she headed for it. She wasn't entirely sure what she expected to happen if she knocked on the door, but the shower was running by the time she'd reached the landing and she froze, unsure what to do.

The sound of the curtain being pulled back and a groan from Harry was heard.

A smile tugged at her lips when she made the connection that he'd needed a cold shower to cool down from her teasing.

There was another groan though, this time it sounded like her name. Ginny sucked in a breath and her mouth fell open. There was a small and consistent slapping noise and a few more hushed groans from inside the bathroom.

He was wanking! He was saying _her_ name and wanking in the shower!

She heard a few expletives coming out of his mouth and simply stayed where she was, rooted to the spot outside the door, desperate to hear more, silently begging that he say her name a few more times. She was already rubbing her thighs together and feeling her own desire to take care of her needs from what she'd heard, but if he groaned her name again while he was doing that to himself it was bound to make her insides clench with want. It would fuel her through what she was inevitably going to do as soon as she herself was alone in a room.

There it was. The sound of Harry's hand working himself over as the water sprayed down on him didn't completely drown out the sound of her name on his lips while he was sucking in a labored breath. Quickly glancing down the stairs she hoped that the rest of the family would stay in the kitchen until he was done. She needed to be able to stand where she was until she heard him finish.

Ginny didn't have to wait long, a strangled and muffled cry from the shower told her he'd just cum. She tried to picture it in her mind. Him completely wet and naked, pumping his hand over himself until something shot out of him and over the side of the stall.

It was all just a mix of blurry images in her mind though, more impressions that a clear picture. She'd never seen an erection before, she didn't know how it looked when a boy came, if the cum would dribble out or shoot straight. She did like to think that Harry picturing her would cause his desire to make his cum shoot straight out, like the more he fancied her and wished she was in there with him the more of a projectile motion it would have

A sound from downstairs pulled her out of her reverie and she quickly headed for her bedroom, grateful that the years of walking the same path had her body automatically following it again, because her head was already focused on what exactly she was going to be doing once she was in there.

Closing the door behind her she knew she had to act fast, scratch that itch between her legs before anyone inevitably called out her name with some task or other to be done on the floor below.

Taking one of her pillows off her bed she stuffed it along the bottom of her door to muffle any sounds she might make.

She knew that if she lay down on her bed that it would make too much noise, every slight movement from her would result in a loud squeak. The floorboards too would make sound if she lay on them. Her only option was to push her clothes aside in her closet and sit down there, that was the only place in her room that she could go where the least noise would be made.

It wasn't the first time she'd done this, and it wouldn't be the last before she was seventeen and able to use her wand to throw up privacy wards.

Pushing her clothes to one side she put her second pillow on the floor and sat down hard on it, pressing her back against the wall of the closet and dropping both her hands down between her legs.

She bit her lip at the relief of having the pressure there. With how worked up she was, this probably wouldn't take too long.

Her fingers circled her clit in hard and fast movements and she dipped two fingers from her other hand inside her, pumping them in and out calling up that unfocused image she had of Harry taking himself in hand and cumming while he thought about her. He'd been picturing it was _her_ hand, wanting _her_ in the shower with him. He wanted her. He wanted to kiss her and touch her. He wanted to be in here with her taking over so her tired hands could stop, and the feeling inside her loins could continue to grow.

She pictured what might have happened if Harry had been the only one with her in the room while she'd been doing that mashing. He'd be forward and demand she stop teasing him and let him do with her what he wanted.

Her fingers started working even faster.

Harry would simply climb over the table, push the pot out of the way and sit down on the table before her, baring his erection that she was the cause of. It wouldn't be shocking though, she'd look up at him with a seductive knowing look and simply move her hand up to grasp him firmly.

She wouldn't just use her hand on him though. No. She'd use her mouth too.

Harry would pant her name in the same tone she'd just overheard and grasp her by the hair so he could get a full view of her taking him in her mouth. He would pant and groan and make little thrusting movements while she worked him over.

Then he'd repay the favor.

Ginny gave a small whimpering cry and bit her lip harder as she felt her orgasm calling from deep inside her. Harry would be excellent at calling that orgasm out. He'd know exactly how to touch her. A smug and knowing look from him alone would cause her pelvic muscles to clench in anticipation of his putting his skills at making her scream to work.

Picturing what that look would be on his face, his incredible green eyes casting downwards on her body and simply knowing that he was already getting her wet. Picturing that set her body off.

Her mouth opened in a silent scream, closing only slightly to mouth his name as her fingers grew even more coated inside her.

She stopped moving her fingers altogether, simply keeping the pressure of them in place as her orgasm rode out it's course.

It could only have been two or three minutes that she'd been sitting on the floor of her closet getting that taken care of. He'd gotten her really worked up.

Now that the edge was taken off though she allowed herself a mischievous smile.

Who would have though, after the short skirts, the heaving chest, the snogging in front of him, who would have thought that simply mashing potatoes would have been what caused her to find out he was wanking at the thought of her.

She wasn't nearly done with teasing Harry yet.

**()()()**


	23. Cunning Linguists

**AN- I've been doing a few smaller stories with AU's and such for the Hinny-verse, this one though was a request from J. Jamie Dupane for something with excessive Blow Jobs. A story of Hinny's intimate moments getting racier experience wise and location. Decided to have it basically based on Head Canon starting right after the Battle.**

**Hope I managed to do it justice J. Jamie Dupane. Just for you, this is essentially plot-less smut.**

**()()()**

**Cunning Linguists **

**()()()**

Ginny had found Harry in his old dorm room bed after the battle, it had been where she herself had grown accustomed to sleeping during her sixth year until her parents had pulled her out. Thankfully the boys in the dorm didn't say anything about it, it was only Neville and Seamus that were left in there as Ron was with Harry and Dean was in hiding. She imagined the two Gryffindor seventh year boys thought that they were protecting her from some of the horrors of their school experience by letting her stay, acting as her protectors or something.

There hadn't been a moments hesitation for her when she saw Harry laying there, she simply climbed into the small bed to curl up beside him, and when they woke the next morning there was only a look exchanged between them that told each other that they would pick up right where they left off before Dumbledore's funeral. Their first kiss after nearly a year apart should have been magical, but it had been more about assurance and ended too soon due to his wincing and gasping at the realized pains from his injuries.

He had taken a real beating during the Battle and hadn't been looked over by anyone before he'd gone to bed. He'd also not had a proper meal in ages, that coupled with his injuries had left him in a fairly rough state.

Ginny was there when Madame Pomphrey released him, Ginny herself hadn't sustained much in the way of injuries, sleep had been the only cure she'd needed. Sleep and knowing that she and Harry were back together.

But she needed him then more than anything else. The twenty-four hours he'd been sequestered away for recovery had been a nightmare for her, emotionally. There was so much clean up, funeral organizing, and politics going on. She'd had to be the strong one, the shoulder for several people to lean on, and all she wanted to do was hide away and have someone tell her that it was going to be okay. She wanted Harry, and she didn't want to have to share him with anyone else for a while.

Harry took her hand when they walked out of the Hospital Wing, letting her guide him to where ever they were going. So much of the castle had been damaged, and he must have assumed she was simply taking him on a different path.

"Ginny?" he asked as they headed down their fourth corridor, seemingly with no end destination in mind.

"I can't, I just. I need a break from my family right now," she told him. Fred was dead and the Weasley's were taking it really hard. "I don't need more people giving condolences or telling me I was brave. I just need," she came to a stop and turned to face him, licking her lips and biting her lower one as she took in the sight of him before her. His hair that was permanently disheveled and in need of a proper haircut, his gorgeous green eyes behind his dirty glasses held the same care for her that she'd been picturing in her dreams, the line of his jaw that was more prominent now that he'd been undernourished for months on end. She needed him, and the longer she looked at him the more her blood rushing through her veins told her she didn't just want him to be holding her hand.

"Kiss me," she pleaded.

He didn't hesitate. Harry pulled her against him and this time when their lips met they could both feel how right it was. As their kiss deepened Ginny felt the stirring inside her that she'd kept at bay for so long starting to bubble up. Harry's hands that were roaming all over her were simply spurring her on.

The section of the castle that she'd aimlessly directed them to wasn't close to any of the restoration locations nor any of the House Common Rooms, they were simply surrounded by empty rooms. She nudged him to move back towards the closest door, neither of them showing any inclination of wanting to break the kiss.

A cursory glance at the room they found themselves in showed that it was simply a small study room and an empty one at that.

The passion behind their snogging was escalating between them and Ginny was growing desperate for him to touch more of her. He had to know that she was his to do with as he pleased. Removing her hands from where they had tangled in his hair she pulled at the bottom of her shirt, yanking it over her head and moving to do the same with his. But his hands stopped her.

She had a moment of panic and her eyes locked on his. Her chest was heaving from their activity, and she watched as his eyes were drawn to her bra covered cleavage with plenty of appreciation.

"Do you not want?" she started. "Is it too soon?" she worried.

"No," he assured her. "No. I want to be with you Ginny. So badly. I've dreamed of seeing you like this." To prove he meant it he rocked his hips forward slightly and Ginny could feel his hardness against her. Her responding sigh of pleasure making it twitch and cause her core to clench in response.

"I'm just," he gave a swallow. "Shy, I guess?" His cheeks flooded with a healthy amount of color.

Her brow knit together in concern for his admission of lacking self-confidence with his body. She didn't care if she could count all of his ribs or if he was dangerously scrawny just then. But if he did, and wanted to wait until he was comfortable, then she wouldn't ask him to remove any of his clothes.

That didn't mean that she couldn't though, and she hoped that if he saw her willing to bare it all for him, then maybe he would be able to follow suit sooner, rather than later.

Her fingers went to her trouser button. "Do you want me to stop though?" she asked with a deep voice, willing herself to continue acting on her desires and instincts.

His eyes went wide and dark, following her hand movements as she bravely pulled down the zipper and slowly moved her hips side to side as she let the trousers slide down her legs.

"Do you want to touch me, Harry?" she asked, begging with her whole being that he did.

His hand came to rest on her hip, right over where her knickers sat, "you're sure?"

"Yes please," she said in a breath, pulling his mouth back to hers. "I want you to do whatever you want to me," Ginny told him between kisses. "I'm completely yours and I want you to touch me," she pulled her head back and made sure that his eyes were completely focused on hers, "everywhere."

He crushed his mouth back on hers then, both his hands wandering all over her exposed skin as though they were afraid they were going to miss out on the opportunity if they didn't take it immediately.

His lips traced down her neck to just above her breasts. "Ginny?" he paused.

In response she simply unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor. Harry gave out a groan and his lips were on her breasts immediately, going back and forth between the two of them as she hummed with pleasure from the work his lips and tongue were doing on her skin.

"Let me transfigure something," she managed between her panting. Standing up while he did this to her had her too lightheaded.

He didn't need to be told twice. He pulled back, not letting his hands leave her body while she went to her trousers and pulled out her wand, waving it at the chair nearest them and managing to focus enough to turn the chair and the one next to it into long cushions.

"I need to know when you want me to stop," Harry told her.

"The only one of us doing the stopping here, Harry, is you," she told him as she lay down, fish hooking her fingers in the only material left on her body. "I don't want you to stop at all," she told him as she pulled the knickers down her legs.

Laying back for him she tried to assume some kind of position that would be alluring enough to make him pounce.

Instead of pouncing though he simply stood over her, his hardness visible even through his baggy jeans. He seemed to be raking his eyes over all of her, memorizing every inch of skin that she was now showing him, right down to the ginger curls between her legs. Once he got there, she boldly spread her knees apart, just a little.

Harry let out a heavy puff of air. He lowered himself to his knees, resting one of each of them on either side of her legs. His hands started at her mid thighs, running upwards along her sides to her breasts, then grazing down her stomach, his thumbs tracing the outline of her triangle of hair and making her move her legs apart even more, rocking her pelvis forward in invitation.

"Please," she begged again.

He came to lean over her, his mouth starting at the valley between her breasts. "I might be terrible at this," he warned her, his voice deeper and more lust filled than she'd ever heard it before.

"I don't fucking care," she cried out in a whisper. "Just please, dear Merlin, please touch me."

He shifted down her body quickly then, leaving a hot trail of kisses down her stomach and spreading her legs further so he could settle down between them, kissing along the inside of her spread thighs. "I'm not sure," he started, sounding conflicted.

"I don't give a shit," she told him forcefully. "I swear, if you don't touch me _now_ I'll do it myself." She didn't think she'd ever been this wet and wanton before.

"That's not much of a threat, babe," he told her cockily.

Ginny came up onto her elbows, looking down at him and about to give him what-for when he finally moved his mouth over her and her head fell back at the wonderful sensation. "Fuck yes!" she cried out.

Harry's mouth was on her, his hands were still trailing up and down her sides, cupping her breasts. His tongue was diving in and out of her. It was all she wanted. "Higher," she pleaded breathlessly, rolling back on her bum to try and get that tongue of his on her clit.

"Show me," he demanded, taking her hand himself and moving it between her legs.

All sense of modesty was completely out the window for her in her state of desperation. "Here," she slipped her two fingers on either side of her clit, "I want your tongue there."

She moved her hand away and he immediately complied with her request, licking it like it was a peanut butter covered spoon until she was crying out his name as her orgasm tore through her. "Oh, yes," she groaned through gritted teeth, still feeling slightly worked up and ready for another go. "Do that two more time's and I might be less inclined to rip your clothes off right now."

"Holy fuck," was all Harry could reply.

She knew she sounded like a wanton little whore right then, but she'd been suppressing her natural urges for months and they were all catching up to her. It was easily amplified tenfold by Harry being there and an active participant.

"I want to touch you," she came back up on her elbows, still not bothered that she was completely naked while he was fully clothed. "You can stay dressed, just let me use my hand on you?"

"Yes," he climbed back up her body, his mouth latching on to hers as they both tried to get his jeans open enough for her hand to fit through.

Ginny could taste herself on his lips and his enthusiasm was getting her all hot and bothered again.

Finally, she fit her hand under his boxers and managed to grip him. "I might be crap at this," she told him teasingly, then focused entirely on what was currently in her hand. "Oh, it's so hard and warm," her insides clenched again, thinking about what it would feel like to have his length making a home inside her.

Harry let out a string of expletives as he fell to the cushions beside her. "Oh, fuck, Ginny, yes," he thrust into her hand. "Yeah, just like that. Little firmer."

She was glad for the assurances and guidance he was giving her, they hadn't gotten this far before, and she'd never done this with her other boyfriends either, she'd simply fantasized about wanking Harry off several times. It hadn't been nearly as hot as it was in real life though. She pushed to get him to lay back and fastened her mouth at the dip in his neck, sucking and licking as she pleased, hoping it might encourage him to let her make the same movements where her hand currently was.

"Yes!" he cried out after not too long, shooting off and his whole body lurching forward beneath her. "Ginny! Yes."

She kept stroking him, slowing down as he began to soften in her hand.

Blindly he reached down into his jean pocket, lifting his hip a bit to pull his wand out and clean up the mess he'd made. Ginny pulled her hand out, feeling empowered for having been able to do that to him.

His eyes stayed closed as he enjoyed the aftermath of his orgasm and Ginny snuggled up against him, the two of them drifting off for a lovely post-coital nap.

()()()

Harry was back living at the Burrow, and he was simply feeling so amazingly grateful for the entire Weasley family for taking him in to the only place that had ever felt like home to him outside of Hogwarts.

It had been a crazy three days since he'd left the Hospital Wing and there had been a few times that he wished he had an excuse to go back there to hide out from the reality of the world around him now. It was much better than it had been while he was on the run and Death Eaters were terrorizing the world, but it was the people that were now missing from his life and the press wanting to get his opinion on things he had no opinion on that were causing him grief.

Ginny was great at calming him down though.

Since their proper 'reunion' back at the school they hadn't had many opportunities to be alone with each other, and certainly not alone with as much privacy as they'd been afforded in that study room.

He still couldn't believe how willing and eager she'd been. He'd seen her naked, had his mouth on the most intimate parts of her, and she'd wanted to do the same to him. The things she was saying too, it had spurred on this animal inside him that was desperate to take control.

But he'd been too sickly. Even now, there was no way he'd be comfortable enough to go into the pond in a pair of swim trunks, he certainly wasn't confident enough to be completely naked before her.

She though.

He'd imagined what she would look like under her kit and was happy that his imagination hadn't run wild with him while it was his primary source of entertainment. Because the naked Ginny he'd imagined and the naked Ginny he'd seen for real were pretty much the same girl.

Woman.

Ginny was a woman. She was sixteen, turning seventeen in just a few months, and she had a woman's body on her.

There had been less freckles than he'd pictured, and her nipples were lighter than he'd thought they would be, but overall she looked exactly how he had fantasized.

And now he entirely understood why it was she had been desperate for that break from real life, even just for the hour or two they'd managed. It had been a lot. There were funerals every day that they had been expected at, he was godfather to a baby he'd never met that was now orphaned, and George was acting erratically, Harry and Ginny were trying to help with that. Hermione kept going on about how she needed to go and find her parents in Australia and reverse her memory charm on them. Ron and she were dancing around each other, neither of them quite sure how to progress with their relationship and turning to him to discuss it.

All Harry wanted to do was tune it all out and be with his own girlfriend. Having her beside him and their holding each others hands through it all had been a comfort, but not on the same level as he'd felt he needed.

The house had settled down for the night, but his brain wouldn't shut off. Tomorrow was more funerals and having to dodge more reporters. He still had to talk to McGonagall about his education and get to Gringotts and find some way to apologize to the Goblins for what they'd done.

On and on his list went, and it kept getting longer.

A noise on the landing outside his door had him sitting upright in his bed. He'd been moved into Percy's old room again, Percy was living back at the Burrow, but staying in Fred's bed to be with George. Ron had his room to himself and slept like the dead, and the toilet was the floor below him, so if someone was at his door then…

The handle turned and he tried not to get his hopes up too high as the door quietly swung inward, showing Ginny creeping into his room in a nightgown that was appreciatively short.

She caught his eyes glinting in the darkness, the starlit sky giving just enough light that he could make out the way she tilted her head at the door and he knew she was asking that he silence the room.

Hermione was a very light sleeper, that had been the reason she hadn't made it to his room before now. Ginny hadn't wanted their friend to come to any kind of conclusions.

Harry cast the privacy spells and Ginny wasted no time climbing into his bed and pushing him back against the mattress.

"Finally," she sighed against his lips.

"How'd you get away?" he asked, kissing her back just as eagerly.

"No judgement?" she prefaced.

Harry chuckled, she had learned a lot from the twins over the years, and was well more mischievous than most gave her credit for. "Tell me."

"Spiked her evening tea," she admitted. "It took an hour to kick in, but she'll be out until morning."

"You know, she'll probably have cottoned on to that when she wakes."

Ginny shrugged, "I'll just tell her I was sure it would do her a world of good." She gave him a mockingly concerned expression, "I only have her best interest in mind."

"Yes, I'm sure she won't for a moment think it was so you could sneak into your boyfriends' room."

"Mister Potter," she said coyly, running her fingers tantalizingly down his arm, "I'm not sure what you mean." She leaned towards him and kissed up his jaw to his ear, "I'm here for entirely innocent reasons." She finished that statement with a light lick to his lobe.

Harry groaned, his eyes closing. She wasn't this provocative when they went out before, but he was absolutely all for it, and willing to give back as good as he got.

Except.

"Ginny," he said seriously, "I'm still not quite… comfortable with myself," he admitted. He wanted to be upfront with her. "Are you okay with that?"

"Of course," she told him kindly. "I know I haven't said it yet, but I love you, Harry. I don't mind waiting until you feel comfortable, and I hope you don't mind how rather… forward I've been," she punctuated that with a slight roll of her hips.

"No, I love it," he told her immediately and breathlessly, "and I love you." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "thinking of you was one of the only things that got me through while we were on the run."

"Any of that 'thinking of me' involve," she bit her lip and waggled her eyebrows, "_thinking_ of me?"

"Almost exclusively," his hand ran down her side to the bottom of her nightdress, then up her silky smooth thigh to cup her bum. He didn't have to worry at all that he was being too forward as her immediate response was to hook her leg over his hip. His hand delved higher and met no further resistance.

"Ginny?" his voice cracked slightly in surprise.

"Yes?" she asked in mock innocence.

"You're. I mean," he was rather flustered, he had been the last time they were intimate too, but she'd been like a woman possessed by lust and it had been driving him on. Now though, they were in a comfortable bed and he'd been replaying their encounter over and over in his mind to distract from all the things vying for his attention. Now here she was in a short and light night dress with no knickers on.

"I just want to help you fall asleep," she purred, kissing that spot on his neck that caused his erection to twitch. "And there's something I've been hoping you'd let me do."

"What, what's that?" he asked, splaying his fingers to properly cup her bum.

"Well, you let me use my hand on you last time, but _you_ got to use your mouth," she gave a long lick up his neck.

"Fuck," he instinctively thrust against her at that, gripping her bum harder to try and gain some control.

"I know there is a flap in those pajama bottoms," she continued huskily, "you wouldn't even have to take them off."

Gently she prodded his shoulder so he'd lay on his back, then straddled him, kissing his mouth again and twirling her hips against his erection. There was only the cloth from his own pajamas separating them as her nightgown had ridden up.

"Let me?" she whispered.

How could he turn down such an offer? She was literally the girl of his dreams asking for permission to give him a blow job!

"Yeah," he kissed her hard one more time before she began shifting down his body. She kissed his erection through the fabric, undoing the single button there. His hands came to assist her with pulling his hard-on out through the slit. He was conflicted about whether he wanted to watch what her reaction was to seeing him hard and on display for her or simply keeping his eyes closed and praying that she would follow through on her request.

His hormones demanded her look down and see what she was doing. He was greeted by the sight of her looking at his manhood with great appreciation, she caught his eye and grinned at him before her hand came forward and gripped him, pumping slowly. Then her tongue came out of that lovely mouth of hers and gave a tentative lick to the underside of his shaft.

He fell back against the pillow with a sigh. It felt wonderful. It was like the worlds best massage.

When her mouth enveloped the head he gave a loud groan, he'd never felt anything like this before. Her lips were around him and her hot wet mouth had his tip sliding in and out, as much as she could take with her hand working the rest of him over.

He kept giving her encouraging sighs of pleasure for her efforts. When her tongue started moving against the very sensitive underside of his tip he couldn't help the small thrusting movements his hips were making. It was fucking fantastic.

She wasn't taking too much of him in her mouth, and she didn't have to. Combined with her hand his entire dick was getting a good working over. He managed to open his eyes and look down at her. The sight of Ginny sucking him off was a work of art. She looked like she was enjoying herself too. In fact, he realized, her other hand was between her legs!

His head fell back against the pillows again and with his eyes closed he kept picturing what he'd just seen, imagining the movements against her clit that she was making while she took him in her mouth.

His balls were tightening, they were dancing their own happy jig as he kept thrusting in small movements more and more into her mouth, wishing that she could take him in all the way and work that fantastic tongue of hers over him even more.

"Oh yes!" he cried out as he came, savoring even more the feel of her swallowing him down, her hand still moving on him slightly while she ensured that she got every last drop that came out of him. "Holy fuck!" he said in ecstasy as he relaxed, his muscles all loosening and letting him sink into the mattress beneath him.

Ginny gently tucked him back into his pajama's, buttoning the button there, and came up to lay beside him.

She snuggled into his side and he didn't think he'd be able to move a muscle just then.

"I want to," he stated quietly, sleep now threatening to take him.

"Shh," she kissed his cheek. "Just go to sleep. You can pay me back later."

Harry smiled sleepily at that. She sure got his mind off his worries and to do lists.

When his eyes next opened it was the crack of dawn and he was spooning Ginny from behind, his morning wood happily nestled between her bum cheeks. It was certainly a lovely way to start one's morning. Unfortunately, she needed to sneak back down to her room before Hermione or her mother, or anyone else in the house really, woke up and realized she had spent the night in here with him.

First though, he thought as he mentally reached out to every part of her that was pressed against himself and loving it, she had said he could pay her back for last night 'later'. Well, now was later.

He had one of his arms around her waist, hanging just below her belly button. Slowly he let that hand move down her front, tugging gently at the fabric of her nightgown so that it would bunch up. Ginny let out a hum as the tops of his fingertips brushed against her curls. She shifted slightly, letting Harry know that she was awake enough to know what he was doing, and not doing anything to stop it.

He tugged at her leg, pulling it gently so that she would swing it back to rest over top of his and give him space enough for his hand to do some exploring. He started with her clit, giving it a little bit of pressure and circling his finger around. It caused a lovely mirror reaction she did with her hips, making her bum move against his erection. He closed his eyes at the feeling and continued touching her.

He'd taken a good long look at her the other day down there. It was amazing and confusing. Right now he was determined to map her out with touch alone. He splayed her folds open with his fingers and tracing along either side of her entrance, marveling at how smooth and pliant the skin was just there.

"That feels wonderful," she sighed.

Harry grinned, pressing a kiss into her shoulder and dipping a finger inside her, enjoying the way her chest seemed to expand as he did so. He swirled his finger around, feeling how wet and hot his finger were getting, he dipped another inside her and his cock twitched again at how tight a fit they had.

He started pumping his two fingers in and out of her slowly, she assisted with his movements by sliding her body up and down the mattress a bit to meet his hand.

He wanted his mouth on her again. He wanted his mouth on her and his fingers inside her, and he wanted her to cry out his name as she came and feel what it would be like against his fingers to do so.

She let out a whimper as he moved away from her, but it turned into a groan and eagerly spread her legs when she realized what he was doing. Quickly, he had shifted down to the other end of the bed, his mouth latched on to her, his fingers delving inside her once more, but deeper this time. They were half inside her now and wondered if she'd cry out with pleasure or pain if he pushed them in up to his knuckles.

He did it and was rewarded with a lovely groan from her.

He kept up a steady pace for as long as he could between his fingers sliding in and out of her and his tongue working her over until it was just his tongue doing all the work, his fingers staying stationary inside her.

It didn't stop her hips from twirling with enjoyment for his efforts, nor did it stop her from reaching her climax. His eyes went wide as he felt his fingers get gripped inside her tighter, then there was this continuous pulsing sensation as she soundlessly cried out her finish.

Harry was desperate to grip himself then. If that was what it felt like to feel her cum around his fingers, then he was sure it would feel a million times better around his dick. He managed to restrain himself though. He may have been horny beyond all belief now, but she had to get back to her room.

"Ginny," he whispered between kissed he was reigning down all over her body on his path to lay back down beside her. "Ginny, you've got to get back to your room before we're caught."

She let out a whimpering sound. "I know," she grumbled before turning over so they were laying facing each other on their sides. "Thank you for that," she grinned lazily at him.

"Thank you for last night," he replied. "It was incredible."

They lay there staring at each other in a dopey haze, their hands simply running up and down each other's backs with no purpose until it was getting too light outside to chance her staying any longer.

Ginny leaned forwards and kissed him soundly. "I love you," she told him again.

Harry grinned; it was like music to his ears. "I love you too."

Quietly as possible Ginny got to her feet and went to the door, Harry moving over to occupy the warm spot left by her body. As soon as she closed the door behind her his hand went down to his bottoms with a groan and he started pumping, thinking only of what it had felt like when she clenched around his fingers and the way he'd felt her pulse around them as she rode out her finish.

()()()

Ginny knew he was in there. She knew he was in there, and she knew that he was frustrated.

She had to stay home today, but Harry had finally managed to get an appointment with the Goblins to go in and apologize for what had happened. He'd told her the whole story about the Horcrux hunt, even her early role in it with the Diary. It had been incredible what the three of them had put themselves through to save their society.

Ron and Hermione had gone with him to the bank, but they had all planned to head on to Hermione's parents house after to make sure that it was all still in order and prepared for when she tracked them down and brought them home.

Harry, instead, came directly back to the Burrow.

Her mother and she were able to tell that it had been a frustrating time for him, but he wasn't much for details, immediately excusing himself.

Ginny wasn't going to let him brood though. She told her mother she was going to go up and make sure that he was alright, and she was going to do it alone.

It had been one month since the battle, and Harry, Ron and Hermione were almost looking just as healthy as they had at Bill and Fleur's wedding. Harry still wasn't removing any of his clothes when they were together though, and she'd had enough of that.

Initially she was trying to be understanding, he'd been through an ordeal and he had never been one to show any skin. She didn't even remember him going for a swim in the pond at any point since he started coming there when he was twelve.

Now he was in the bathroom, and she was going to wait for him to finish up using the facilities, but she heard him turn the shower on. The sound of the curtain's being closed was enough assurance for her that he was in there. They weren't see through curtains, so she wasn't breaking any of his rules by looking at him naked.

Opening the door she stepped in.

"Occupied," Harry called out unnecessarily.

"I'm aware of that, thanks," she deadpanned.

"Ginny, can I just… have a minute?"

"No," she moved items aside on the counter and sat down.

"Ginny!"

"Say my name one more time and I'll strip down and come in there with you," she threatened.

There was a long drawn out minute of nothing being said between the two of them, only the sounds of the water filled the small room.

"Ginny," Harry said quietly.

Her mouth dropped open. He didn't say her name like he was calling her bluff, nor did it sound like he was telling her to go away. That was an invitation, hesitantly said, but still an invitation.

This was what she'd wanted, so why she sat there in shock for longer than necessary she wasn't sure. She got down from the counter and quickly shed her clothes, pulling back the curtain and stepping into the stall at the far side from the spray of water. Harry's back was to her and there was plenty of light in the stall for her to see him properly.

She knew immediately then.

The reason he'd been hiding his body from her hadn't just been because he was undernourished and too skinny. It was because he was covered in scars. There were dark and angry scars that were recent, one's that were long and thin and clearly several years old. There were spots that seemed like he'd been burned. He wasn't completely covered, but enough that they all drew her attention at once.

"It's ugly, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

She'd felt some of the bumps under her fingers before but hadn't said anything about them. They clearly didn't hurt him. She reached out now. His shoulder blades jerked backwards slightly from the feel of her fingers on him like this, but it didn't deter her.

Picking up the bar of soap on the little ledge she stepped towards him more, reaching her hand around him to get the soap wet, then bringing it to his back and working it over him.

"Ginny," his voice sounded like he was about ready to cry, "I don't really want to talk-"

"Then don't," she told him abruptly, but gently. "I don't need to know where they all came from right now. I just want to be able to comfort you and touch you."

He turned around and she let the bar of soap slide around him and rest on his torso. He had more scars there as well, and down his arms. She rubbed the soap all over his shoulders and down his arms, feeling his eyes watching her every move carefully.

Putting the soap back down she used her hands to spread the suds around his body more, then ran her fingers down each arm simultaneously, her right hand stopping at a circular scar on his left forearm. She raised it up so she could see it closer.

"I know about this one," she whispered, bringing it to her mouth and giving it a kiss.

He stepped closer to her and brought his arm around her, so she was flush against him. "You don't mind them?"

"Of course not," she told him easily. "I love you, Harry. I don't care that you have scars on your body, so long as I can have that body to myself," she smirked suggestively.

He grinned down at her, "I thought it was my gender that was supposed to have sex on the mind all the time."

"That is simply a carefully constructed rouse that we females came up with to keep you men under our control," she teased.

"Oh, and you aren't betraying the other female's by telling me this?"

"No," she told him simply, her hand coming down between them and playing with him while he grew hard. "I do have you by the balls after all."

Harry's chuckles had his sack shaking slightly as she fondled him.

"What say I take care of you right here," she purred, nuzzling her nose into his chest, "and put you in a much better mood."

As she slunk to her knees before him he drew in a breath. She loved that how, even after a month of them exploring each other like this, he still had the same reaction every time, like it was surprise each time that she was willing and eager.

"Ginny," he whimpered.

She knew he was worried they'd get discovered by her mum.

"Shh, we only have a few minutes of hot water left," she told him, her hand already coaxing him to full length.

It really didn't bother her that he was scarred, and she did want to know the stories behind each of them, but right now she was simply enjoying the fact that he had been comfortable enough to show them. She wanted to reward him for his bravery, and this time she had full access to _all_ of his bits.

He braced his hands against the back wall of the shower and Ginny took in all of his manhood with her eyes. There certainly weren't any scars to see around there, she was doing a thorough check of that. With her eyes at least so far. Now she just needed to check with her tongue.

Ginny raised her hand that was gripping his erection and sliding over it to bury her nose at the skin underneath. It was so soft there against his balls. Harry made a surprised choking noise when she attached her mouth to one of them, sucking it inside her mouth, then letting it pop out and doing the same with the other.

She grinned as she heard him simply repeating the first part of her name over and over again. Clearly this was something he liked.

They were short on time however. That in mind she ran her tongue along the underside of his erection and took him as far into her mouth as she could and gave a few hard sucks, gagging a little bit when he unconsciously thrust into her mouth and hit the back of her throat.

Pulling him out half-way she started working her hand over him, with each bob of her head she swirled her tongue along the underside of his head, just how she knew he liked it.

It was rather uncomfortable to be on her knees in the shower though, and she wanted to be able to get more leverage, that meant she needed both hands.

Pulling back completely she looked up at him and saw he was already looking down at her, his eyes the darkest green she'd seen and an expression of awe all over his face. She supposed they hadn't done this when it was light enough for him to see everything that was going on.

"Give me a hand here?" she asked with a grin.

He was quick to take over for her hand, her lips still covering him, her hands now gripping his hips putting less pressure on her knees. Locking her lips around his tip she simply latched on and started making the movement of drinking him down with her mouth. His muffled cry of pleasure above her and his increased hand movement the only indicators she needed to know that that was a winning move.

Soon enough she felt the warm cum shooting out of him and coating her mouth. Every time it happened it made her want to grin. She loved being able to give him this and he was always incredibly grateful for it too.

She drank him down and stood up. He didn't seem to be concerned with where her mouth had just been, because he was eager to give her a proper kiss as a thank you.

He turned off the tap and pulled back the curtain.

"It was the reporters more than the Goblins," he told her as they toweled off.

"They knew about your meeting?" she asked, her brow furrowed. She knew from Bill that there was no way that the Goblins would have leaked out when his meeting was. He may have freed one of their dragons and crashed their ceiling, but he was willing to pay for the damage and had plenty of gold in their vaults so he was still a valued customer.

"They weren't there when we arrived, just when we left."

"Oh, so someone saw you going in," she nodded. "Was there a question they had in particular that set you off?"

The reporters had all been clamoring to be the first to have the 'inside scoop', but he'd been asked all manner of different things, like what brand his pants were, and whether he thought Kingsley would make a fair Minister or Magic.

The only question that Ginny really wanted to know herself, and Harry had yet to decide, was what he saw himself doing in the next few months.

He had several options, the different departments at the Ministry were all offering him positions, but he could also go back and start his seventh year at Hogwarts. There were several students that would be repeating fifth and seventh year because they missed out. And if Harry went back then the two of them could simply spend their year playing Quidditch and just enjoying being together.

She didn't have high hopes that he'd choose to go back. She was merely going to beg that he meet up with her as often as he could.

()()()

The four of them looked around the entrance way in surprise. It didn't look anything like it had the last time they were there.

Harry had asked Kreacher to take care of the place and keep it up, but he hadn't expected the Elf to listen, nor to be capable of doing such a thorough cleaning job. Even the carpet and the walls were now spotless and brighter. Mrs. Black's portrait was gone, as were the Elf heads.

"What?" was the only verbal reaction that came from any of them, and it was from Hermione.

Harry had been living at the Burrow for two months now, and he thought he'd done a fairly decent job of piecing his life back together. He'd met Teddy, his godson, properly and minded him for a few afternoons so Andromeda could get a break, Ginny had been with him the whole time because he didn't think he could do it by himself. He'd gotten the mess with Gringotts all sorted out and they had been surprised and pleased by his formal and financial apology. Fleur had given he, Hermione and Ron the idea for how to get the reporters off his back and they'd gone to Xenophilius Lovegood to give the full expose on what his role had been, minus a few key facts.

It got some of the pestering reporters to stop stalking and owling him.

All that was left to do was to move out of the Burrow and accept one of the jobs that was offered to him by the Ministry. Because as much as spending the next year with Ginny sounded fantastic, he felt he was too old to be going back to school.

Coming to Grimmauld Place was supposed to help with the decision on where to live, and looking around at all the improvements that Kreacher had made had Harry thinking that he could move in here. It didn't even look like the same place anymore.

CRACK

"Master is home," the Elf bowed to him.

"Kreacher," Harry started, his eyes still taking in the improvements, "this place looks fantastic."

"Kreacher is glad Master approves. He worked very hard, sir."

"It really shows," Hermione told him in awe.

The four of them took their time looking in all the rooms and seeing just how much more inhabitable the place looked. Harry went to check Sirius' room, holding tightly to Ginny's hand, while Ron and Hermione went to see about what would be needed for the kitchen.

It was remarkably tidy. The last time he'd been in there, there were things scattered all over the place, including letters and such. Now, he opened a drawer and saw that everything had been organized and put away.

Ginny stood smirking at the pin up girls that still had the permanent sticking charm holding them to the ceiling. "Think I'd look like that if only I had a motorcycle?" she asked.

"No, you'd look better," he grinned.

"Oh yeah? How about I strip down to my knickers, and you can do a side by side comparison?" she teased, climbing up to stand on the bed looking down at him and slowly pulling her shirt over her head.

"Ginny!" he chuckled, saying her name quietly. "Ron and Hermione could walk in here at any moment."

"I know," she rolled her eyes with a pout, sitting down on the bed now and picking up her shirt.

"Hold on," he tugged her shirt away. "I didn't say 'no'."

Ginny grinned at him and cocked an eyebrow, "you want to get the door? If we leave it open though, we'll hear them coming," she teased.

"Actually, if we leave it open," he pushed gently on her shoulder, "they'll hear you cumming."

Her mouth dropped open. "Mister Potter," she grinned eagerly.

They'd been getting a little more adventurous with the locations that they pleasured each other, taking any time they were alone and using it to their advantage physically. It was too few and far between that they were able to be properly intimate with each other, working out to about once a week. Not that they weren't constantly touching each other the rest of the time, just not intimately. They were constantly holding hands or had their arms around the other. Her family seemed to be comfortable seeing them like that.

That wasn't what he had in mind at that moment though.

He kissed her eagerly and his hands went to her trousers, causing her to do the familiar wiggle to get them down over her hips.

"For my birthday," he started, kissing along her stomach, "think you could get into your smallest Hogwarts uniform and come to my room?"

"Hmm, we're getting into the costumes already, are we?" she asked, not sounding like she minded the idea at all.

"Was one of my fantasies I came up with when I was in the tent. You coming to me in your uniform, and you didn't even need to take it off to get up to what we did."

Her hand cupped under his chin and she made him look up at her. "Are you asking for a shag for your birthday?"

For a moment all he could do was stare at her. They hadn't properly shagged yet, they'd just been using their hands and mouths on each other and getting very comfortable doing so. He didn't know right then if she was offering or asking.

He would probably still be at the Burrow for his birthday though, knowing that Molly wanted him there at least until Ginny and Hermione went back to school, same for Ron. But Harry didn't want to have any restrictions about volume and privacy when he and Ginny finally went to that level of intimacy.

"I want to be properly alone for that," he told her honestly. "Just you and me, and only one spell," he meant the contraceptive charm.

"I want that too," she told him. "But until we manage that," a devious look returned to her eyes, "back to work." She pushed his head down and he settled down to his knees beside the bed, simply sliding her knickers to the side and feasting on her.

It didn't take him too long; he was getting quicker at figuring out how to get her off, and he was damn proud of himself every time. He loved the flushed look that came to her cheeks, it reminded him of when she would come into the change rooms after a cold days Quidditch Practice last year, and it looked great on her.

They heard Ron and Hermione coming up the stairs right after she'd cum and they scrambled to get her dressed, both of them trying to fight back their chuckles. Her shirt was a little askew, as was her hair, but when the other two came in it was clear they'd assumed he and Ginny had only been getting up to some snogging.

Harry thought what he'd just done would have made Sirius proud.

()()()

The time Harry went down on her in Sirius' bedroom when they had the high chance of getting caught spurned something in the both of them. It had been exciting and funny, and they'd felt like they'd just gotten away with something.

It had caused them to be a little more reckless.

Ginny had used her hand on him in the broom shed once, Harry had gone with her and Hermione to a Muggle shopping mall and while Hermione was distracted Harry fingered Ginny in a changeroom. Ginny had gotten him very riled up over a family dinner a few times, and for his birthday she'd grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and gone down on him on the dock by the pond when they could still hear and make out the shapes of everyone back up by the house.

All in all, Harry was having a fantastic time with her this summer.

The easy life he was living at the Burrow had helped him decide what to do when Ginny went back to school as well, and he had put a lot of thought into it. He'd had several very stressful years, and he needed a break. He wouldn't be coming home to Ginny everyday and that was going to be hard enough. If he decided to join up with the Auror's as he had initially wanted then it was likely he wouldn't get to see her playing Quidditch this year or make it to any of the Hogsmeade visits, and he was absolutely not passing up any chance to see her when it was available. So, he was going to spend his next year working with the Department of Magical Games and Sports. It was a low-key job that could potentially bore him to tears, but it would ease him into the Ministry and he'd be home by five every night and free on the weekends, unless there was a game he was given tickets for.

Next year, once Ginny decided what she might like to do, then perhaps he'd sign up for Auror training. But for now, he was going to take it easy.

Ron had been understanding, he had joined up for the Auror's though. Right now he and Hermione were in Australia, the Australian Ministry having assisted Hermione with tracking down her parents.

The two of them had apologized profusely to Ginny because they wouldn't be there for her seventeenth birthday, but there wasn't any big party that they were going to be missing, instead Harry had talked to Arthur and Molly and gotten their permission to take Ginny out in the Muggle world, which included an overnight in a hotel room.

He may as well have simply told them straight forward what his intentions were with their youngest child and only daughter for that night. They saw his request for what it was, the opportunity to be properly alone with Ginny for the first time.

Ginny knew too, and even after all they'd been getting up to they were both still excitedly nervous about it.

August 11th was a warm clear day and Harry brought her to London center, showing her the brochure with self-guided walking tour information and she was quite keen about it. They started at London Bridge station and wove their way along the river, taking in a performance at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, checking out the construction of the Millennium Wheel, and stopping for a bite to eat at the Spaghetti Factory before he took her to their hotel for the night.

"A hotel?" Ginny asked in surprise. "I thought we were just going to go to Grimmauld Place."

"Kreacher is there though," he pointed out. "And we agreed that we would be _alone_ for our," he cut himself off and realized that he was talking at normal volume and there were people around.

Ginny gave him a big cheesy grin, "so you booked us a hotel room at some swanky place for the night?"

"Only the best for my girl," he kissed the back of her hand, laying it on thick. He'd booked them a stay at the Shangri-La Hotel. It was super lush, but one of the only hotels in downtown London that wasn't known for having a ghost or two wandering about. He'd put a lot of thought into this. He'd booked them on a high floor as well so they would have a good view of the city.

"I even have a midnight snack and breakfast arranged," he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Merlin, Harry," she laughed, "you don't have to work so hard to get in my knickers you know."

"Hey, I'm not going to stop putting in an effort just because you're always eager for it."

Ginny simply blushed and bit her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud and silently followed along side him as he dealt with reception and getting them to their room.

"Oh my God!" Ginny exclaimed when they gained access to their room. Harry had managed to get them one of the 'Iconic City View' suites. Unless a helicopter was flying by, there was no way that they would be seen or interrupted by anyone.

It was still early evening and he was getting himself incredibly worked up and nervous about what they planned to do for the evening.

"Hey," Ginny came over to him and took him by the hand, "don't look so scared."

"I'm not," he told her immediately.

Ginny didn't look convinced. "We don't have to, you know."

"What?" he asked, taken aback. "Do you not want to?"

"No, I want to," she told him honestly. "But you look like the one that needs coaxing, and I don't want to push you."

"Shouldn't that be my line?" he gave her a wry look.

Ginny took a step back from him in the direction of the bed, her hand going to the belt on her summer dress she'd chosen for the day and pulling it loose. "How about this," she started, kicking off her flats. "I'm just going to be over here slowly getting undressed and then if you decide to join me you can feel free to do so."

This was one of the things that he so loved about her. She was balls out confident. How it had taken him so long to notice her when they were in school he couldn't fathom. He licked his lips as she pulled the zip down on her dress and let it fall slowly to the floor, giving him plenty of opportunity to get an eyeful of the lacy bra and knickers she was sporting.

She was getting straight to business.

"Birthday gift?" he asked taking in the obvious high quality of the two items.

"Can't say my sister-in-law doesn't have taste," Ginny grinned. "You want to take them off me?" she offered.

She moved back onto the king-sized bed, resting back completely against the duvet and letting out a sexy sigh. She was putting on a little show for him, he realized, her hands came to her shoulders, slinking down her bra straps slowly and cupping her breasts firmly, tweaking her nipples through the fabric just a bit, then moving down her stomach as she arched her back more the closer she got to her knickers.

Harry was mesmerized by the sight of it. His very own wanton little ginger was laying before him and touching herself, with an open invitation from him to join in at any moment, or to sit back and simply watch.

But it was her birthday, he didn't want her working any harder than necessary to get her pleasure.

As her hands made it to her knickers she ran them over top of the silky material a few times, right over where her clit was, before bringing them back up and dipping a hand inside them as the other moved back up to her breast.

Quickly as possible Harry shed his clothes. _All_ of his clothes. She'd succeeded in getting him as hard as a rock, and he was determined to get her to find their first time properly making love as enjoyable an experience as possible. He'd prepped for this and knew that if he used his mouth and fingers on her first and got her to cum that way, then she'd have a more enjoyable time when they were joined finally.

And he knew that there was a very good chance that he wouldn't get her off when they had sex for the first time either.

With her hand under her knickers he hooked his fingers on either side of her hips and pulled the silky material down her legs. He pulled her hand away and caught her eye before he lowered himself for his mouth to line up with her.

She grasped his chin. "Oh no you don't," she warned, flipping him over and straddling him.

It was the first time that there hadn't been any scraps of fabric between the two of them and she'd maneuvered herself so that her spread legs were at either side of his hips and her hot and moist center was pressed right against the underside of his erection.

"Oh," his eyes rolled back slightly from the contact, "Ginny. I need to," he swallowed. "I want it to be good for you."

"It will be," she assured him, looking down at him, her eyes less determined and lust filled and more full of the love and determination her tone was conveying. "We have all night, Harry. I promise that we'll have more than one shot at this."

"But there's only one 'first time'," he tried to explain. "I know I'm probably not going to last, but I would hope that I'd be able to at least make it more comfortable for you by, you know, getting you there first."

Ginny came forward and gave him a grateful kiss, "and I love you for that. But if you're concerned you won't last, then maybe I should take the edge off of you."

She started kissing her way down his body and he was going to protest, at least weakly, but her hand came up between his legs and she started massaging his balls, then he didn't have any ability to talk. Ginny had gotten very familiar with what he likes and knew what would shut his brain off.

"Wait," he managed, "same time."

"Same time?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, same time. Get your arse over here," if she could be bold, then so could he and the thought of giving her a good tonguing while she had him in her mouth was turning him on even more than her little show had.

Ginny didn't need to be asked twice, she turned around on the bed and straddled his face. They required a bit of maneuvering to correct for the height differences between their torso's, but they got it figured out and soon enough she was sucking him off and he had his mouth buried between her folds.

It took some work to get his brain to allow him to enjoy the pleasure she was giving him and keep up his tongue movements at the same time, but once they'd established a rhythm they were gold. She was eagerly working her lips and hand over him as much as he was wagging his tongue firmly over her clit, his arms wrapped around her legs and brushing against her entrance.

From this angle as well he could see just how wet she was from the activity. He could watch her swelling with pleasure before his eyes, it was like it was calling for him to be inside her and making sure he would be as accommodated as possible inside the tight and wet space provided.

Seeing that caused his brain to picture his dick sliding in there, slowly at first, then ramping up his movements until it was just a blur of him pounding into her.

His orgasm ripped through him and he didn't stop his tongue for a moment, instead he increased the pressure against her and heard her whimpering with pleasure as she sucked down his load.

"Fuck!" Ginny cried out once she'd cleaned him off good and proper and pulled her head away. "Gods that feels so fucking good."

He tried to fight off the wave of tiredness that threatened to overtake him and slowed his tongue down, but was determined to get her there. His fatigue went away pretty damn fast when Ginny started to use her hand on him again, coaxing him to stay hard, and it was working.

"Looks like someone's ready for another round," she stated, twirling her hips over him.

And he was.

Harry gripped her hips and pushed them away from him, she understood immediately and fell back against the pillows, allowing him the space to flip over and climb up her body so he could settle between her legs.

The head of his penis found her hot entrance easily and Harry paused there. "Yeah?" he asked, looking deep into her eyes for any sign of hesitation. He knew he wouldn't find any, she would have been game for it the day after the battle. All the waiting had been due to him. He'd enjoyed all of the groundwork they'd laid getting to this point, but he wanted to be as comfortable as possible with her, and their relationship to be about more than just sex right from the point of them getting back together.

Sure, they'd still had a form of sex repeatedly since just after the battle, but this was that last milestone.

"Yes," she told him, softly and firmly.

Harry gripped her under one of her thighs and eased himself forward slowly. He had to bury his head in the pillow at the side of her neck at the sensation.

It felt like when she'd gotten her lips really wet and slowly eased them down the tip of his head, but a million times better because these lips could continue down his shaft, and he was slowly allowing them the opportunity to do that. The inside of her felt warmer than her mouth had and the way that it gripped around all of him was incredible. He'd certainly done his job in making sure she was properly wet for him, even if she hadn't had an orgasm yet.

He let out an enormous groan at the sensations caused by him starting to slide in an out of her, he wasn't fully buried inside her, but it still felt amazing. Ginny too was taking in deeply pleasured breaths and his own pleasure was enhanced knowing that she was enjoying this too. With each thrust forward he went deeper inside her until there was a small amount of resistance.

In the back of his head he'd been prepared for this and knew that he had to simply keep moving forward and push through it. Stealing himself for a moment he pulled back slightly and simply bared forward, surprised when he essentially slipped and found himself completely buried inside her. There was a sharp inhale of breath from Ginny, and he felt her breathing through the pain. He couldn't stop himself from continuing to slide in and out of her, the most he could manage to control was the pace of the movements which were slow, but very thorough.

It wasn't long before he felt Ginny's body relax and she began moving with him.

Now he was extra glad that she'd decided _he_ was the one that needed to get off before they made love because there was no way that he wouldn't have exploded inside her by now had she not, he probably wouldn't have even made it past her hymen.

His speed started increasing, as did Ginny's responding hip thrusts and sounds of appreciation. His eyes rolled back in his head further when there was this fluttering sensation that kept gripping him tighter inside her. She was cumming, he realized. He had gotten her to cum on their first try, and it felt amazing.

Her back was arching and he came up onto his elbows, his body now desperate to get its own relief while she was gripping him this hard. His movements were even smoother now with how wet she was. As she finished riding out her orgasm he was quickly approaching his own and his thrusts were much more determined.

His second orgasm shot through his body even harder than his first. "Jesus, fuck. Yes," he cried out as he spilled himself inside her, lurching forward in jerking movements as it just didn't seem to want to end.

Harry collapsed on top of her, his body still reeling from just how different it felt to have orgasmed inside her like that, rather than her mouth or hand.

"That was amazing," she panted.

"Yeah," he agreed, slowly pulling himself back so he would slide out of her and then rolling to lay beside her. "That was. Good job," he muttered.

"Good job?" she started laughing.

Harry too started chuckling. "I've no idea if I was saying that to you or me," he admitted.

"I'll take it," she giggled and held up her hand for a high-five. "Good job, Harry. We're not just cunning linguists anymore."

**()()()**

**AN- Yep, I'm ending it there. Not much plot in that story, pretty much just smut. But that's what the prompt was asking for.**

**Want everyone to know that your favorite Hinny authors have all banded together and created a real life collaboration of original works. It is called 'Into the Mystic' and you can find it through most of your literary sites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble plus several more.**

**Ffn doesn't do hyperlinks, so copy the link below and remove the spaces if you'd like to check it out through Amazon!**

**amazon . com dp/****1938808568/**


	24. Counting Scars

**AN: I was asked to write a one-shot where Harry and Ginny spend some quality time together talking about his scars. ****Well… I've read a few of those before and they are all sad and heartfelt. So, I am going to take a different approach.**

**For Stephanie O.**

**This is basically a continuation of the last one-shot.**

**()()()**

**Counting Scars**

**()()()**

Harry was grabbing his side because he was laughing so hard. "It wasn't like that," he gasped.

"Of course, it wasn't," Ginny scoffed between her snickers. "I wasn't there though; I'm just reenacting from my overactive imagination." Ginny pulled her cloak off the hook on the back of his door, pulling it on with a dramatic flourish and then held her hands out. "I am robed now!" she announced. "Where is the teenager I am obsessed with even though I'm sixty and spent over a decade as a… thing?"

"Ginny! Seriously," Harry laughed.

"Oh, this is dead serious. I'm a reincarnated pedophile. Oh!" she pointed directly at him in, her fake surprise sounding in a higher pitched voice. "There you are, my pretty! You just stay there while I call my _adoring_ fans around us, yeah?" She cocked a fist on her hip and struck a pose.

"Ginny! Come on," Harry impressed upon her.

"Fine," she scoffed. "If you don't want that one, then how about this!" She let off a blast of golden confetti from her wand. "Oh no! The gold is multiplying! Swim through it. Ah, it burns." Ginny picked up a handful of the confetti that had fallen on the bed and took a deep breath, blowing it at Harry.

"Oh, the burns," he stated as deadpanned as possible, a smile still affixed to his face.

It hadn't been an easy task to tell Ginny about the different scars on his body and she'd known that. Her method of making light of them had him chuckling a few times when he saw one in the mirror though. It was a much better reaction than the frowning and depression that he had felt seeing them before she'd made light of the ordeals that caused them. This wasn't the first time they'd spent an evening talking about them.

The first time she'd turned one of his traumatic encounters into a comedy act he'd simply gaped at her. Then she poured him a healthy amount of Scotch and he'd joined in.

Right now, she was visiting his at Grimmauld Place on a weekend pass, one that her parents didn't know about. She was seventeen and technically an adult, so McGonagall didn't require Ginny to get parental consent to leave the castle.

This weekend Ron was off on some Auror Recruit retreat and Ginny didn't have any Quidditch practice or a heavy load of assignments to complete, so they jumped at the opportunity to be alone.

Harry was still very happy in his decision to get a job as a lacky for the Magical Sports Department at the Ministry for his 'year off'. It had meant he could come home from work and mentally switch off his brain. He'd gone to several Quidditch games, read leisurely (Hermione had sent him a few mind-numbing books she thought he would enjoy, and did), and he'd gone on a few wanders through the Muggle world. He'd also spent a great deal of time writing letters to Ginny and catching up with her through their two-way mirror.

It wasn't too hard being apart from her with all the ways they managed to catch up with each other. He missed having her beside him as often as he'd like, but he was also just enjoying life stress free for the first time ever.

This game of hers, getting wasted and making up the darkly humored versions of his past pain was keeping them in stitches this evening. It was only the third time they'd done this, but it always ended with her raining kisses all over his scars and the two of them in a passionate embrace.

She fell down on the bed beside him, back against the headboard, and he handed her drink back to her. She rested her head on his shoulder and let out a content sigh.

"I missed you."

Harry gave a kiss to the top of her head, "I missed you too."

Her free hand came to his arm and she traced around the faint scar left by the Basilisk Fang. Aside from the fact that he'd be dead had Fawkes not healed him, he wondered just how big the scar would have been with out the Phoenix Tears to make it almost disappear.

Ginny took a swig of her drink and put the glass down on the other nightstand, swinging her leg over his lap to straddle him. Her eyes were shining brightly with their set and determined look. This was another thing he loved about her; how sex had been an important milestone to the two of them, but it was also something that didn't require them to be completely serious for. It wasn't an all-important task that they couldn't laugh at, or tease each other over, it could just be fun and about pleasure no matter what state of mind they were in.

The first time they had sex it ended with a high-five and chuckles, and it had still been an amazing experience.

They just simply got pleasure from giving each other pleasure.

She was looking at him like she was interested in getting and giving pleasure right now.

Her hands went to his hips and slipped upwards, pulling his jumper over his head and leaning down to kiss the scar over his heart. "From when you wanted to check in with Dumbledore one last time," she murmured.

"Well, I knew I couldn't get a hold of him through the Floo," Harry said off-hand.

Ginny's lips quivered against his chest as she chuckled over his comment. Moving on she went to his shoulder. "From when Tommy-Boy wanted to simply get his hands on you," she kissed that scar too, letting her tongue run along it.

Harry's eyebrows twitched up at the ticklish sensation that her tongue on his shoulder gave him. "Wish I could have told him I was taken then, but unfortunately I still had my head up my arse when it came to you at that point."

"Well, at least you learned from your mistakes," she pulled herself up and rested her forehead against his, slipping her hands down over his shoulders and massaging his back muscles as she lowered them down his back. Her fingers ran over the bumps from the burns he'd received when he was in the Lestranges Gringotts vault. "You didn't learn from your mistake about searching for cups with these however," she told him wryly. She was referring to how he'd first gone after the Tri-Wizard Cup before the Hufflepuff one.

"Damn me and my hero complex," he said softly, more focused on the feeling of her hands massaging him.

"These one's aren't so funny though," she whispered, trailing her finger along the faintest of lines along his back.

No, those one's weren't funny at all. They had been given to him before he'd gone off to Hogwarts. Punishments by his uncle for things that no young boy should have received punishment for. His uncle Vernon had removed his belt far too often and none of those punishments had been justified, nor had the fact that Harry lived in a cupboard for as far back as he could remember until he was eleven.

Harry ran the side of his face against hers, choosing instead to focus on the warmth of her skin and the enjoyable weight of her sitting astride him.

He pulled open her cloak and ran his hands along her skin underneath. She had only had her school skirt and bra on when she decided they play their little game. She liked to get him all riled up before she teased him. She also very much liked to wear as little as possible when they were alone; he quite enjoyed that.

"Your turn," he decided, thrusting himself forwards so she would go flying backwards as he pinned her to the mattress.

Her alabaster skin wasn't nearly as marred by scars as his was, but there were still a few that he'd found in the months since he'd first gained access to her naked body. He pulled back from her and shucked off his trousers before undoing the button at the side of her skirt and pulling it off.

He paused at the large scrape on her right shin, giving that a kiss.

"Jumping over a small stone wall when I was eight," Ginny relayed him the story again. "It hurt, but no so badly that I realized I was cut to the bone. My jeans didn't even rip, they just got covered in blood."

Harry smiled against the scar. Of course, she wouldn't have realized she'd given herself a proper injury, she would have been much too stubborn to admit how hurt she was to her brothers even if she did notice. He crept up her body, nuzzling her inner thigh and then kissing her center through her knickers.

She was always so sensitive when he put his mouth there for the first time during their sessions. He watched as she sucked in a breath and tried not to pull away from any ticklish sensations he was giving her before the desire-filled feelings took over. He dragged his tongue in circles around her clit through the fabric, waiting for her to moan and rock against him.

Once he got her good and invested, he kissed up the crease of her pelvis and to her hip, nipping at the scar on her side. She flinched, but he saw the way she was biting her lower lip and smiling, her eyes closed and simply enjoying the feel of him.

"Falling out of a tree when you were trying to watch your brothers play Quidditch," he stated.

"Ten years old and they still wouldn't let me play," she pouted. "I'll show them."

"You already have," he corrected her. "You're the best Chaser Gryffindor has ever had, and you will no doubt be first pick at your try-outs in a few months," he assured her. It wasn't the first time he'd told her so. She already had enough skill to wipe the floor with a few of the professional Chaser's out there.

She looked down at him adoringly. She always did when he told her how much he believed in her.

Harry unclasped the cloak that was still around her and made her roll over so he could get to the scar on her back. It was a long one that was not yet a year old. She'd gotten it during the battle when she was thrown out of the way by Kingsley and she fell against the wall, not before a weak cutting hex got her. It had been healed immediately, but the angry red line remained. A healthy dose of sunshine on it over the summer and it would probably fade to white.

He undid the hook on her bra and ran his torso along her bum while he kissed his way up the scar, his growing erection nestled between her thighs as he did so. Ginny purred at the feel of him against the inside of her legs, pressing her knees into the blankets and back again, only a little, so that she was stroking him with her flesh.

He in turn hummed against her shoulder blade, then against her neck.

Harry's hand went down her side and underneath her, his fingers stroking at her lower lips. Ginny moved her legs apart, so he had better access between them. He stroked there, circling the pad of his two fingers over her clit and felt her bum cheeks clench against his middle in response. He grinned into her neck before he dipped his fingers lower. She wasn't quite ready for him yet, but he was up for the challenge.

Sucking on her neck he began pumping his finger in and out of her slowly and listened to her slow sigh. It was a slow sigh of contentment. He knew it meant that if he kept this up, she was likely to grow too sleepy to be interested in much more. That wasn't what he wanted though.

Moving back down her body he pulled on her hips, tugging her knickers off. She moved to turn over, but he stopped her.

"Tuck your knees up," he ordered her, curiously.

She paused for a moment, then did as he asked, her folded legs now under her belly.

From this angle there was no comfortable way that he was going to be able to keep his mouth on her, but his fingers could give her a good working over. Harry settled down behind her, enjoying the sight of her bum cheeks sticking out like this. He dipped on finger inside her and started pumping it in and out slowly, lowering his head and watching how she blossomed for him as her arousal grew. He added another finger and she started rocking back slightly. His own arousal was growing as he watched this little show he was putting on.

Then he added a third and she started squirming and moaning.

Harry had a smirk on his face at how worked up he'd managed to get her. He always felt proud of himself when he got her really randy.

He kept up his hand movements as he managed to pull off his boxers with his other hand and lined himself up right behind her. She was glistening wet now. He removed his fingers and gave himself a pump with his moistened fingers before placing his clean hand on her back and guiding himself inside her.

They both let out a satisfied sigh at the feeling of him inside her.

This was a new angle for them. Her hips turned down like this, it was like he could go deeper inside her than most positions. It felt fucking amazing. He was as deep as he got when she was riding him, but this time he was in control. Ginny's moans grew steadily louder until she was basically screaming every time he was fully sheathed inside her.

Harry managed to maintain his speed and thrusts steadily but quickly sweat was beginning to form on his brow. He wanted to draw out this feeling for as long as he could, but his legs were starting to protest. Ginny raised her hips up slightly, adjusting his angle inside her, but he pushed them back down to keep the sensation just right for him.

He grew to the point of not being able to hold out for her any longer. Harry grabbed her hips with both hands and began setting an almost brutal pace, hoping that the sounds that Ginny was making were one's of pleasure and not pain until his orgasm shot through him.

His whole body lurched with each spasm that ran through him until he was unable to move, simply frozen, save for his heaving breaths, on his knees behind her and trying to come back down to earth.

Ginny was the one to crawl away from him so he slipped out of her. He cracked his eyes open and watched as she rolled to her side and stretched her legs out, a cringe on her face.

"Shit," he whispered. He fell back down to earth quickly at the winces of pain that flashed across her face. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I kind of, can't tell," she said awkwardly.

"What?"

"Well, it was good. But there were some points where I couldn't tell if it felt good, or it really fucking hurt."

Harry just stared down at her in confusion. How could she not know if it hurt or not? "So, you don't know if you liked it?"

"Oh, I liked it," she told him wryly, looking him dead in the eye with and cocking an eyebrow at him. "Something about you taking me that way made it all very hot." He felt her fingers walk their way up his leg. "What you just did to me could be classified only as 'fucking'," she sat up and wrapped her hand around his neck. "And I certainly don't mind you fucking me like that."

"Oh yeah?" he asked slowly, a cocky grin coming to his face.

Ginny pulled his lips to hers, giving him a deep snog before pulling back and biting his lip. "Oh. Yeah."

"You didn't get yours though," he pouted.

"Night's not over yet," she told him, pulling him down on the bed with her. "Because you fucked me so hard, I think you need to kiss it better." Her hands on his shoulders were already pushing him down between her legs.

He was quick to comply with her wishes, shifting himself down her body and sucking her nub into his mouth as hard as he could, feeling her writhe beneath his lips.

"Want to see how hard I can give it to you like this?" he asked her seductively, pressing two fingers against her wet entrance now, circling them around twice before plunging them inside her as far as he could, suckling at her clit at the same time.

Ginny gasped in a breath, "yes! Oh fuck! Keep doing that."

Hearing her pants and cries were fueling him to keep it up. He loved it when she would inevitably lose control and start rocking against his face in the rhythm that her body was demanding. The roll of her hips and the way her thighs would squeeze against him when he was getting her just right. He couldn't fathom how some blokes didn't like doing this. It always got him ridiculously turned on. Knowing she was into it simply did it for him.

In fact, he was growing hard again as his tongue and fingers were working her over. He was already pulling up in his head what he'd like to do to her after she came, knowing she would be open to it considering what they'd just done.

As she writhed under his tongue and fingers, creeping closer to her orgasm, Harry's own hips were starting to rock slightly into the bedspread beneath him.

Ginny gave a lurch and cried out her finish.

Harry loved watching her body when she climaxed. The way her face and chest flushed with pleasure, her back arching and thrusting her breast upwards. His tongue traced lazy circles around her, removing his fingers and dipping his mouth lower to lap at her there as she relaxed with a contented sigh back against the bed.

"Don't go thinking I'm done with you yet," he warned her, coming to his knee's and letting her see how she'd gotten him riled up again.

Ginny cracked one of her eyes open and peered at him before closing her eyes again and giving him a grin. "Come here then," she told him, rubbing her back against the comforter in a way that told him she was ready for him to simply climb on top of her.

But that wasn't the position he had in mind.

"Nope," he said simply. "I'm going to need you at the other end of the bed." Harry took one of her hands and pulled her into a seated position, lowering his head to her ear. "I want you to hold on to the headboard for this one," he whispered.

She let out a puff of air against his cheek, her breath going slightly shallow, she leaned back from him, her eyebrow arched in intrigue. She crawled away from him to the other side of the bed, crouching slightly over the pillows at the head and grasping onto the wooden headboard, her knees apart and her lovely bum exposed for him.

Harry tilted his head with interest seeing her in this position. She'd been grooming herself before they had any of their clandestine meetups and he was literally biting his lip over just how much of her he could see when she was posed like this from his angle. A particular forbidden place on her that was perfectly on display and growing more intriguing.

But now was not the time for that possibility.

"Is this how you want me?" she asked coquettishly over her shoulder.

"That's exactly how I want you," he told her darkly. "You'll need one more thing though."

He went to the nightstand and grabbed his wand, casting a spell to make the tip of it vibrate. He'd read about this little spell in one of Seamus' dirty magazines ages ago and had forgotten about it until one of his lonely nights a few day ago. Casting a glance at Ginny then he saw she knew exactly what he was doing. There was a very good chance she'd used that particular spell a few times when she was alone, her sex drive being what it was.

Harry came behind her, she being up on her knees like this the position was much easier for him to slip right inside her. Ginny gasped at how quickly he'd done it and groaned as he started moving in and out of her easily.

He moved his wand between his middle and index finger, the tip of it being at just the right place on her while he was gripping her hips with his hand; the small grunting sounds she was making told him as much. Her being perched up gripping the headboard meant that he got more of the lovely pressure of her back against him while he did her doggy like this. They were both groaning loudly in this position, and there was no question about whether she was enjoying herself this time.

As he carried on thrusting into her the two of them found themselves moving closer and closer to the headboard in an attempt to make his thrusts as thorough as possible, and their bodies tight enough against each other, until she was almost upright. His hand that wasn't holding his wand went to her shoulder, pushing her downwards and causing her to basically have her cheek pressed up against the wall, each hand gripping her harder as his body began telling him his finish was near.

Sweat began gathering on his brow again and he could feel Ginny starting to shake beneath his skin, clenching around him, pulsing with the announcement that her end was in sight as well.

"Fuck!" he let out as he shot off inside her. Her accompanying cry and tightening around his erection made it feel a hundred times better. Panting, Harry rested his forehead on her shoulder, and he gulped in the air he'd been denying his body in search of his orgasm.

They'd never cum at the exact same time before. It felt bloody amazing.

"You need to move your wand," she shuddered.

"Which one?" he asked sarcastically.

Ginny didn't laugh though; she quickly grabbed his wand out from between his fingers and tossed it aside. "Too much," she whispered, her voice still recovering.

With a groan he pulled out of her and fell back on the bed. "We certainly need to do that one again," he sighed tiredly.

Ginny fell to the bed beside him and curled up against his body. "Yeah, that was a winner," she said as she snuggled up against him, her hand tracing along his side.

He enjoyed the feel of her hand running all over his torso and up to his chin. She traced along his jaw line, then ran her hand back along a particular spot. He didn't open his eyes as he felt her get up on her elbow to look closer at where her finger had just been.

"Do you have another scar under your chin?" she asked.

Harry gave a small chuckle. "That one will fade fairly quickly," he told her.

"You cut yourself shaving?" she asked with a small giggle.

"Yep."

"The Great Harry Potter, and the battle of his own razor blade."

**()()()**

**Posting this little tidbit again, because it is very exciting for me;**

**Want everyone to know that your favorite Hinny authors have all banded together and created a real life collaboration of original works. It is called 'Into the Mystic' and you can find it through most of your literary sites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble plus several more.**

**Ffn doesn't do hyperlinks, so copy the link below and remove the spaces if you'd like to check it out through Amazon!**

**amazon . com dp/****1938808568/**


	25. Crash- The Blackout

**Had a guest prompt for this one. They requested a flash back to the Black-out sex that occurred in Chapter Nine- Compulsion Potion. Here's a little reminder;**

_"The last thing I remember was accepting a glass of something from George." Ginny filled her cup up with coffee. "What shenanigans did I get up to exactly?"_

_"Oh, nothing too crazy. You jumped in the pond, did a little dancing, attempted to fly two brooms at once. Then we sent you and Harry to bed and didn't hear from either of you for the rest of the night." Her mum told her easily enough._

**But that wasn't all that happened, was it?**

**()()()**

**Crash- The Blackout**

**()()()**

The whole Weasley Family was out in the garden and enjoying each other's company after dinner. It was their bi-monthly get together. Sometimes that meant they met up twice a month, sometimes every other. In this instance it was the every other month. Since Christmas and New Year's, they had all been busy.

There sure were a lot of Weasley's now, even not including Harry who had basically been part of the family for a decade. The Weasley boys were all pairing up and procreating, so the whole clan was growing quite large.

Bill and Arthur started a large fire going and everyone was standing around it to keep warm as stories were told and jokes shared while the drinks flowed.

Ginny and Harry, who should have known better, were George's unwitting victims this night. The prankster that he was couldn't pass up the opportunity to add an extra ounce of fun into _someone's_ drink for the evening. Tonight, Ginny and Harry were those someone's.

Ginny was standing beside George when she drank her beverage and he wanted to make sure that it took full effect. A little innocent prompting on his part, just to get the ball rolling, couldn't hurt

"Hey, Ginny. What do you feel like doing right now?" he asked her.

"What?" she turned to him, her eyes still much to clear for the potion to have taken full effect.

"If there was something silly that you would do right now, but standard convention told you it was a bad idea, what would it be?" he asked, his expression and tone suggesting it was a simple philosophical question.

The smirk on her face told him that she thought he was just coming up with a new topic of conversations. "Well," she looked around the Burrow property and at her family that surrounded the bonfire with her, then at the fire itself. "Jumping over the fire," she decided succinctly. "Think I could clear it?"

Their fire pit was roughly a meter wide, and the wood on it was piled up rather high as well.

"Go on then," George encouraged, taking her empty glass and gesturing.

Ginny grinned widely, "alright." Backing up she gave a cursory glance to those on the opposite side of the fire pit from her and saw she would have had enough distance. Giving a hop up and down to ready herself and gain some momentum she broke out in a run and jumped over the fire.

"Ginny!" her mothers voice called out in surprise and reprimand.

Ginny had managed to clear the fire pit and landed in a crouch on the other side though and was looking very proud of herself and exhilarated. "I did it!" she celebrated.

"Come on now," Harry's said. "It isn't that hard. Look," and in a very un-Harry like show of one-upmanship, he too jumped over the fire, arms giving a victory fist bump into the air and laughing.

Soon nearly everyone was taking a turn catapulting themselves over the fire, until Harry's jeans caught an ember and he yelped as he swotted at the little nugget that was burning a hole through the fabric.

"Jump in the pond," George told him.

It was the end of February, that wasn't the best idea for dealing with a tiny ember. They were wizards after all, and could easily have rectified the problem with magic. Harry was quick to take George up on his suggestion and didn't seem bothered by the cold temperature at all. He headed down to the pond among a chorus of cheers and egging on from the Weasley brood. They all laughed as he walked out onto the thin layer of ice, rather unsteady on his drunk feet, and they laughed even harder when he fell through.

"Polar Bear swim!" Ginny cheered and rushed toward the pond herself, jumping in the hole he'd made from right off the dock. No one else followed her though.

The two of them emerged from the water with chattering teeth and blue lips and Mrs. Weasley set herself upon them right away. "Really," she scolded, "how much have you two had to drink?" She dried their clothes instantly and ushered them closer to the bonfire, summoning them both a cup of hot tea.

As the two of them sat there chuckling over nothing the others around them turned back to discussing the going's on in the world with Ginny and Harry chiming in with sarcastic quips and snickering over funny words, until Ginny grew too squirrely and turned on some music. She pulled Angelina to her feet and made her join in on her impromptu dance party, then moved on to other unwilling participants as well.

Harry however went to the broom shed and pulled out two brooms. He exclaimed that they were both for him to ride.

The problem was that one of them was a Nimbus and the other one was the oldest model Cleansweep that the Weasleys owned.

"Think having two at the same time will make their powers combine?" he asked as he awkwardly attempted to lay them out for mounting.

"Mate, that is not a good idea," Ron told him with an amused snort.

"Oh, where's the harm?" Harry brushed him off.

"Harry, really. Maybe you should go in and lay down," Hermione worried.

"Two brooms at once?" Ginny moved away from her, now, solo dance party. "I want to try that!" She jogged over the to broom shed and came out with two brooms as well, both Cleansweep's for her. "Race you to the pitch and back!" she shouted at Harry, doing her own fumbling as she attempted to get the brooms to lay right.

The family was all cringing as they watched this show before them. The two, seemingly, most inebriated people at the gathering trying to get comfortable on two brooms with different lengths and handles trying to race each other.

"I don't even remember them drinking that much," Angelina shook her head at their behavior.

"At least they are amusing drunks," Bill laughed.

Harry was twisting and turning as he attempted to slow down his faster broom and speed up his slower one, meanwhile Ginny had flipped upside down in mid-air, luckily she had a good grip on them and managed to get to the pitch and back to the others with out falling off.

"Alright. That's enough," Molly stepped in. "You two," she stomped up to them. Harry had fallen off his brooms when he got back close to the fire. He'd simply tumbled off the side and onto the snow, laughing as he went. "That's enough out of you. Back to the house, go sleep it off." Molly sounded cross, but it wasn't an uncommon occurrence for at least one of her children to wind up like this at their gatherings. It was the first time it had been these two being the culprits though.

Ginny stuck out her bottom lip in a fake pout but said nothing to protest. Harry just smiled dopily and followed along behind her.

Once in the house Ginny shed all of her outer gear and moved to the stairway, Harry was only three steps behind her.

"Well, this is me," she joked, pointing a thumb at her door and swaying slightly.

Harry paused on the landing, his glassy eyes turned to her and narrowed in on her lips. Her eyes made the same journey down his face as well.

It was as he was stepping towards her that her hand shot out and grasped the front of his shirt, pulling him in quicker. Neither of them seemed to have given it a spare thought before they pounced. Their mouths devoured each other as a primal groan escaped from both of them. He pushed her up against her door while she was already tugging to get his shirt over his head.

No words were exchanged between them before Harry opened her door and carried her through, kicking it closed behind him. Ginny succeeded in getting his shirt over his head, then pulled her own off and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck to pull his lips back to hers.

Harry's mouth moved down her neck and to her chest, slathering her breasts with kisses as he worked the catch on the back of her bra, yanking it off her as soon as he could and burying his face in between her soft mounds. Ginny's head fell back at the feel of him nuzzling against her and she moaned when he drew his tongue along the underside of each.

Her hands went to his belt while his worked the button on her trousers.

Neither of them were looking for much foreplay as they pulled their remaining clothes off and fell onto Ginny's childhood bed. Harry climbed between her legs and she grasped him in her hand to guide him inside her, the both of them crying out in the pleasure of being joined.

"Fucking yes!" Ginny grit out through clenched teeth and rocked herself back and forth with his thrusts. "Ah," she moaned, "it's been so long."

Harry wasn't taking things slow, he set a steady pace and was only keeping his completion in mind as he consistently barreled into her, his deep breaths growing deeper and quicker. His mouth was still traveling all over every spec of skin he could get to from his position. His brain quickly told him that he simply must have his release.

He started chanting her name over and over again as his finish drew close. He groaned loudly as he emptied himself deep inside her.

Ginny wasn't done yet though. Quickly she flipped them over and ground herself back and forth on top of his slowly waning erection, making sure the pressure at her clit was just right with the feel of him still inside her. Her hands fisted the sheets on either side of his head and her eyes were shut tight as she cried out her finish.

She fell on top of him.

"I have wanted you," Harry panted out as his arms came around her, "for _so_ long."

Ginny let out a sloppy half-snort type of laugh into the crook of his neck. "_You've_ wanted _me_ for so long? You really are a daft boy, aren't you?" she slurred. Ginny slid off him and to his side, the two of them turning their bleary eyes to squint at each other in the darkness. Ginny's hand came up to run her fingers through his hair. "I've always wanted to touch your hair."

Harry's hand went to her bum, "I've always wanted to touch your bum. There was this one poster that came out when you joined the Harpy's. You were flying and every now and then you would do a loop and bend over, giving a flash of your tight trousers under your jacket." He was grinning to himself as he pictured it. "I wanked to that poster so many times."

"I want to shag again," Ginny blurted out. "Can you go again right now?" Her hand massaged his chest, travelling down to cup him between his legs.

"I'd love to," Harry told her eagerly, "but he'll need a minute." Moving his own hand up her side to cup her breast he lowering his head, nudging her back, so he could replace his hand with his mouth. "I've pictured what your breasts would look like. Wondered if you'd have freckles all over them."

"When I was taking some of those glamour shots, I would hope you'd be getting some of them. Trying to make you want me," Ginny admitted, letting her head fall back against the bed while Harry took his time burying his face in her bosom.

"I've a few of them in my nightstand. Pulled them out when I needed a visual sometimes," he started working himself down her body. "I want to taste you. I've wondered what you'd taste like."

"Oh, yes. Do that," she sighed and spread her legs farther apart. "I've wanted your head between my legs since I was fourteen at least." Harry positioned his head right between her legs and started massaging her gently with his fingers as she groaned and twirled her hips slightly at the pleasure.

"You don't have a boyfriend right now, do you?" Harry asked with a slur as the errant thought passed through his mind, his fingers continuing to work her over and smiling at the sight before him.

"I wouldn't care if I did. I want your tongue on me. Now!" Ginny grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged him closer to her.

He gave a chuckle as his lips met her clit, then he started giving hard circular licks around it at first, then he grew more aggressive about it, going at her with his mouth like she was his last meal and he was completely ravenous.

It was his enthusiasm and steady rhythm that had Ginny about ready to lose her mind.

"Oh! I'm going to cum!" she cried out in warning after only a few short minutes.

Harry pulled back from her suddenly, climbing back up her body and plunging his erection back inside her. "I want to feel it like this," his lust filled mind had him growling. He groaned as the tight heat of her surrounded him once more.

Ginny gasped in shock at the sudden invasion but recovered quickly and the two of them found a rhythm that was making them both feel the most amount of pleasure. Harry could feel her tightening around him and his eyes rolled back in his head about how much she was squeezing around his hard-on. She cried out her orgasm and Harry sped up his thrusts, determined to get his own finish while she was still tight and pulsing around him. She had almost completely relaxed underneath him, to the point of simply being the vessel he was deriving pleasure from when he came.

It was his turn to collapse on top of her, now feeling more drained than he had in a very long time. Twice in a row in one night had certainly sucked the energy out of him.

They settled down beside each other, both simply looking to get in a comfortable position for sleep and wound up spooning. Harry sighed contentedly when his arm was hugged around her.

"Wait," she groaned and climbed clumsily over top of him, going to her dresser and pulling on a nightgown.

"But I like you naked," he protested.

"Tough, I don't like feeling you breathing on my neck, but I don't want to change up positions," she told him before climbing back over him and settling herself back in the position they were before.

Harry kissed her shoulder and Ginny drifted off to sleep immediately.

It was Harry's bladder that woke him in the middle of the night. He needed to get to the loo. Rolling onto his back he slipped off the bed and onto the floor, his bare bum hitting the hard wood.

Squinting around him he located his glasses, pulling them on followed by all of his clothes. His attention was caught by movement on the bed as Ginny rolled onto her back and she gave a little slow shimmy of adjustment to get comfortable. Harry gave her a dopey smile and then turned to her door, leaving it open on his path to the bathroom. He went straight for the toilet and let out a small groan as he relieved himself.

His head was spinning slightly as he turned to look at himself in the mirror. He blinked a few times to try and clear up his vision as he went to wash his hands.

It was as he was coming back out of the bathroom into the hallway that he came out of his black-out and consciousness returned. What the time was, whether he'd been still downstairs carrying on with everyone or if he'd already gone up to bed for the night before using the facilities he wasn't sure. There wasn't the usual feeling running through him that he recognized from previous nights of intoxication. His head should have felt fuzzy, there should have been a team of garden gnomes doing a clog dance behind his forehead, and his stomach should be rolling. None of those things were happening. He may as well have been sleep walking.

()()()


	26. Convincing

**AN- I've had a few requests that are along the same lines; older Ginny, Harry pining over her, she doesn't take him seriously… and then she does.**

**In this A/U Ginny was born between Percy and the Twins, and Harry is a year younger than her and is best friends with the Twins instead of Ron; they plus Lee are the next generation of Marauders. No YKW. Changed up the ages of they Gryffindor Chasers too.**

**()()()**

**Convincing**

**()()()**

"Okay," Harry looked at himself in the mirror, "this is it. You are going to do it. She hasn't believed you before, but things are different now. You're different now," he pointed his index finger at his reflection. "She's been single for a bit, and you know that she wasn't in love with the last guys she's dated anyways. She just needs to see you in that light."

It wasn't the first time he'd tried to psyche himself up about this. In fact, he'd done it every time he found out that Ginny Weasley no longer had a boyfriend.

She was it for him, and he'd known that for years.

It was convincing her that was the problem.

He hadn't gone about it the best way in the past, so that was on him. It didn't help that he was best friends with her twin brothers, Fred and George. Those two plus himself and Lee had managed to surpass the Marauders for the highest number of detentions during their time at Hogwarts so it wasn't like he was known for being straight with people.

His dad and godfather had been so proud, his mum had been so exasperated.

But it wasn't like Harry and them had hurt anyone, a few select Slytherin's aside, but even those guys weren't permanently injured. He and his friends caused trouble and made McGonagall go gray a little quicker, but all in all it was good fun.

Harry had made the Quidditch Team in his second year, alongside the twins who were made Beaters. Ginny had made the team in his first year as a Chaser and it was like she'd been born to it. He'd been super impressed by her then, and he supposed he'd always had a bit of a thing for her. It wasn't until she'd set her sights on their Quidditch Captain in his third year that he realized just how much he liked her.

()()()

"Good game!" Oliver patted Harry heavily on the back after they'd just won their first game of the season, against Slytherin. "Glad you paid attention to me. Did you find the search pattern more helpful?"

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Yes, he loved Quidditch, but he wasn't quite as obsessed as Wood was with getting the Quidditch Cup, he just wanted to play the game, and yes, he wanted to win, but the practices were way more intense than they needed to be; Wood was way more intense than he needed to be.

Truthfully, Harry thought Wood could do with a shag or something to focus his energy elsewhere, since apparently his OWL studies weren't cutting it. It was Wood's first year as Captain, and he was taking that role far too seriously.

"Yeah, Harry," George started with a cheeky grin. "Was it the grid search, or the zig-zag that gives you the best advantage?"

"You know, there's also simply tailing the other Seeker," Fred told him importantly. "Not that Higgs really knows what he's doing. Surprised he sat on his broom the right way."

"Yeah, alright," Wood gave up and moved on.

They'd all made it back into the change room and were eager to get out of their Quidditch kit and back up to Gryffindor Tower to enjoy the party that was being thrown together in their honor.

"I want to run through the next two weeks of scheduled pitch time," Wood started.

The three third years gave a groan. They'd only _just_ finished their first successful game of the year, they wanted to start celebrating, not listen to him prattle on.

Wood knocked on the door to the separate changeroom door that the girls went through. "Hurry up. Team meeting."

Harry started pulling off his jersey and his arm and knee pads as the three females on the team trooped back in. Angelina Johnston and Alicia Spinnet he didn't know as well as Ginny, but all three of them were really easy to get along with.

"Ginny!" Fred shouted in alarm beside Harry.

Harry swung his head around and his mouth fell open and eyes started bugging out of his head.

"What?" Ginny asked. She was standing there in her white Quidditch trousers and a sports bra, her long wavy hair hanging loose down her back, with one hand on her hip. "Wood sounded _desperate_ for us to get in here. Wouldn't want to keep him waiting." She gave their Captain a cheeky wink as she took up on a bench and rested her elbows back on the table behind her, showcasing her lovely attributes.

Harry felt a twinge of jealousy at the way she was looking at their Captain, a coy smirk on her face. She'd intentionally come in there half dressed, simply to draw Oliver Wood's attention. She wasn't baring that much skin for Harry, but he couldn't help thinking he'd have loved it if she was. There were a few unfamiliar fluttering sensations in his belly as he looked her over.

He'd seen her at the Burrow by the pond in her swimsuit over the summer when he'd visited, but this was somehow different. Her breasts being on display under the enticing cut of that spandex bra was somehow much more intimate than her swimsuit was. He got the chance to appreciate her in a whole different type of lighting, and he did not want Oliver Wood seeing her like that. Casting a look at the captain he saw Wood was slightly blushing, but not looking as interested in her and Harry now felt.

George threw his shirt at her and told her to cover up. Ginny gave a chuckle at the reaction of the boys, the other two girls looked to have been in on it, they were all dorm mates and probably knew she fancied their Captain.

Harry was still mesmerized as Ginny stretched her arms up and lowered George's shirt over her head. His head tilted to watch the way it slid down her body until the last little sliver of skin was covered on her torso.

"Oi," Fred hit him in the arm.

"Huh?" he turned to Fred, then abruptly closed his gaping mouth and felt his face heating up.

()()()

That was it. That was what had started it all. From that day on it was like his whole body was attuned to her. If he walked into a room, he would automatically look for her, if he heard the sound of her voice, he would stop paying attention to whatever he was doing to listen to what she was saying.

It wasn't just that he'd realized she had a killer bod, or that she was beautiful. It was so much more than that. She was funny, she was brazen, she was a fucking amazing Quidditch player.

It was a surprise to no one when she was signed as a reserve player to the Wimbourne Wasps right out of school; she'd had offers from the Harpies and the Cannon's as well, but she didn't want to make a team simply because she was a girl, which Harry respected, and the Cannon's were bottom of the league.

Harry was further delighted that he didn't have to change his loyalties when that happened, he'd always been a Wasp supporter.

Now he was heading to his first team social as a Wasp team member as well.

He'd tried out right out of school after receiving the offer to join the Training Camp and gotten offers from Puddlemere, Cannons, and the Wasps. It was no hard decision for him. Playing on his favorite team with his favorite person was a no brainer, he'd leapt at the chance.

Harry shook out his hands as he was getting ready to Apparate to the pub they were all meeting at. There were going to be twenty-one team members and ten support staff that were at the pub. It would be crowded and loud and the atmosphere would be a little chaotic, but he was sure that he would be able to get her alone.

He was going to tell her properly this time and make her believe he was being sincere. That he had always been sincere about it. He'd just been crap at relaying that.

Perhaps he should have broken up with his girlfriend at the time before he'd asked Ginny out the very first time. But in his defense… he'd forgotten in the moment that he _had_ a girlfriend. Dating someone in a different House and in a different year hadn't allowed for much time with said girlfriend, and with Quidditch and being rather infatuated with someone else the whole time; Well, he was a bit of a cad to Cho Chang really. But she was also super chatty and rather vapid, he just hadn't gotten around to ending it with Cho. He had been spending more time with Ginny then anyway, considering _Ginny_ was a Gryffindor _and_ on his Quidditch Team.

It had taken him two years after the beginning of his infatuation to drum up the nerve to ask Ginny out. And it had been ideal timing considering they had nothing else to do but talk to each other while they were serving that detention.

He'd perfectly orchestrated that they be in detention together.

He was such and idiot.

()()()

"I suppose it could be worse," Ginny shrugged as she told her friends, "I could have been serving it in the dungeons with Snape. Hagrid at least lets me get to work and leaves me to my devices."

Harry was one table over from she and her friends in the Library. He heard she'd got detention for using her Bat Bogey Hex on a Slytherin in her year when he'd made some rude comments about her. Word had gotten back to all the Weasley boys and Harry had eagerly pitched in to make Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch Team Captain, pay for what he'd said to Ginny and putting his hands on her.

Flint should have known better anyhow. Ginny wasn't exactly a girl to be messed with and once she got through with you, there were four other brothers still at the school with her, including one who was Head Boy, and the twins!

Ginny had been reprimanded for using magic in the corridors by Snape, but the fingers were pointing in several directions when it came to who had made Flint's skin turn green and caused him to sprout breasts, so no one got a detention for that one, and no one would. But, if Ginny was going to be serving her detention with Hagrid tomorrow evening, then Harry was going to find a way to serve that detention with her.

Getting a detention for himself was easy enough. He'd served several over the years and gotten away with several things without being caught, or able to be definitively called out for. Filch had a quick trigger finger when it came to Harry, Lee and the Twin's, all he had to do was make a mess somewhere and say 'Oops' loud enough.

It worked just like he planned; Filch stuck him in detention and Harry was spending a lovely Autumn evening in the vegetable garden with the girl of his dreams.

They had an easy repour between them, but he was desperate for her to see him as more than just her younger brothers' best friend. Five years now and that was all he'd been to her; he knew it was. She didn't see him as a dating prospect, he was simply Harry, Fred and George's friend, to her, like Lee was.

She wasn't currently dating anyone that he knew of. She'd been seeing a Hufflepuff bloke at the end of the last school year, but they hadn't made it through the summer. Now there was a Hogsmeade Weekend coming up and he was itching for the chance to take her out for a Butterbeer and see him in the same light he saw her.

"Now, I know you're great at getting your hands dirty when it comes to pranks, but can your noble upbringing allow you to keep pace with me here?" Ginny asked him cheekily, handing him a shovel before she grabbed the wheelbarrow from the shed.

They'd been tasked with harvesting squash and turning over the soil and pulling out the plants that were done producing.

"I can hold my own," he told her, only slightly offended. It was true that he hadn't ever had to garden before. His mum kept a flower garden, but she tended to that herself. How hard could it be though? Yank off squash, pull out plant.

"Sure you can," she told him patronizingly.

As they started to work he was formulating just what to say to her, how to make her see him as dating potential. He watched the way she went at the squash with her bare hands, twisting them and breaking the vines they were attached to and leaving them on the ground to be collected all at once. It was so natural to her. Everything came so natural to her, because she was perfect.

"Anyone asked you to Hogsmeade yet?" he blurted out.

"Not yet, but I've got my eye on someone," she looked over her shoulder and gave him a wink and a cheeky smile.

His spirits rose instantly. She winked at him! It was him she had her eye on! YES! Her thinking he was just her younger brothers' friend was all in his head. He'd been successful in getting her attention with his pranks and wicked Quidditch skills.

"Waiting for him to ask you then?" he asked rather more cockily than he meant to.

"Well, I am a girl. We're supposed to behave all dainty and clueless, aren't we?" she joked.

"Dainty and clueless are two descriptions no one would ever use on you," he assured her. She stood up to give a stretch and he stepped closer to her. "So, meet there, or head down together?" he asked with a grin.

"What?" she asked with a laugh, her expression showing she was convinced he was joking.

He should have stopped there, considering her reaction. But he didn't.

"Well, it's me, isn't it?" It had to have come from several years of making pun's and sarcastic comments. His natural tone and inflection simply sounded like he was kidding. All. The. Time. It wasn't the ideal situation to have that as his pre-set, but in this situation, he supposed it did save him some embarrassment.

"Oh yes, of course it is," she slugged him gently in the shoulder. "I've simply been waiting for you to come available. Suppose I still have to wait though, aren't you seeing the Ravenclaw Seeker?"

She was beaming brightly at him, thinking that he hadn't been at all serious about his question. Her face was alight with humor and she was radiant, even with the smear of dirt on her cheek. Meanwhile his stomach had dropped.

She hadn't meant him at all.

And he was dating someone.

Fuck!

He forced his laugh to sound as natural as possible and went back to his task, quickly changing the subject.

()()()

That had been the first time he'd attempted to ask her out at school. Unfortunately, every time after she had thought he'd simply been piling on to the joke.

He'd even sent her a bouquet of her favorite flowers on Valentine's Day with the cheesy card that asked if she'd be 'His'. Her response had been to simply thank him for the flowers and give him a pat to the cheek. Later he'd seen her looking rather cozy with a Ravenclaw in her year.

Sigh.

Harry closed his eyes and focused on his destination, the back alley of the pub. There were several people out in the Alley having a fag, but this was a Wizards pub, so it wasn't at all odd for them to see him appearing before them.

He gave a wave at everyone there that he knew as he passed.

He'd gotten a few pats on the back and handshakes. He was the youngest and newest person on the team, but he'd made damn sure that everyone knew he was just as qualified and dedicated as the rest of them in the few practices he'd been at since being signed.

He made it into the warmth of the pub and scanned his eyes across the place to find out where she was. It didn't take long to spot her, on the other side of the bar, leaning against the counter and talking to the bartender.

She'd dressed fairly casually. There were only a handful of times that he'd seen her really dressed up and he'd nearly swallowed his tongue each time.

They hadn't talked much since he joined the Wasp's, she hadn't been quite as relaxed around him as she used to be either. Then again, that could have been all due to what had happened. Even though it was over a year ago since… that. And then the other time, well. It had been New Years, it was tradition.

The second time had been a proper attempt, the first had been a misunderstanding, but he was damned sure not going to let the misunderstanding come between them again.

It hadn't taken long for the twins to realize he was holding a torch for their sister. They hadn't been very helpful in suggesting ways to woo her though. Neither had his dad or godfather. His dad simply started regaling him with stories of everything that _hadn't_ worked when he was trying to get his mum to pay him attention. Sirius had told him to just grab her and kiss her.

Sirius' advice was probably what really caused the misunderstanding to occur.

That and the alcohol.

()()()

The twins and Lee had taken Harry around the pubs on his seventeenth birthday. They wanted to celebrate the day of his birth the way that they themselves would have loved to for theirs had their coming of age birthday, had theirs not fallen during the weekday and during the school year.

Harry's mum and dad had seen this form of celebration coming and threatened Harry's friends within an inch of their lives, well, okay, mum did the threatening, if they failed to get him home before dawn.

One drink at each of the establishments in Hogsmeade, that was the mission. There were only three bars, but there were several liquor serving restaurants that were included on the tour.

By the time the four of them stumbled into the Three Broomsticks they were all good and sloshed. Harry was finding everything hilarious, and the twins were trying to pick up any girl that walked past. Lee though seemed to be holding his liquor rather well and was a touch more somber than usual.

Harry sat down heavily on the bar stool and leaned over the counter. "Rosie!" he called out. "It's my birthday! Think you can make me something special?" he gave her a big grin and an exaggerated wink.

"Sure, how about a tonic water with lime? Attempt to pace yourself," she pursed her lips. They had that kind of relationship; the Marauders of the previous generation treated her like their lovely older sister, Harry treated her like his loving aunt.

"How about just an ale then," he pouted. Apparently, she didn't think he was too many sheets to the wind, because she still served him.

"Alright," Fred started and looked around the pub. "Now it's time to check out the ladies."

That caused Harry to pout a bit more. There was only one lady he had on his mind. She was done with her schooling now and he was depressed that he wouldn't be seeing her at Hogwarts the coming year. No more chances to woo her in person and make her believe he was properly in love with her.

Because he was in love with her.

How could he not be?

"Hey," George nudged him. "No long faces! You know what?" he asked, getting to his feet. "You need a snog."

"Wha?" Harry looked up from his drink and into his friends face. George was swaying slightly.

"Yeah, he does," Fred came to stand beside his brother, making Harry feel a little like he had double vision.

"The two of us will do all the work," George assured him with a devious smile.

"That's right. We're going to find a bird in here that is all eager to get herself a good long snog from you and send her over!" Fred announced, rather loudly.

"Can you do that for me too?" Lee asked. "Girls are a lot of work."

Harry gave his friend a sympathetic pat on the back. He'd forgotten just how broken up his mate was about his split up with his last girlfriend, explained his mood. It had only happened a week ago. Lee had thought it was love and was going to last, poor guy. He'd been managing a brave face until that last drink there.

The twins went off in search of some girls for the two of them, but Lee didn't look in the mood even if one of the twins were successful.

"I'm not going to say there are other fish in the sea," Harry told him. "Cause I know what fish I want and I'd be gutted if I had her and she swam away."

"Can you not refer to Celina as a fish?" Lee asked before chugging down half of his pint.

"Can I equate her to a mermaid? But, like, the hot kind that Muggle's draw, not the," he gestured drunkenly to his own face and make a ghoul like expression. It got Lee laughing at least.

"They won't be successful in finding you a bird if you're over here making that face," Lee told him.

"Oh yes," Harry made his face as serious as he could, "I should be looking like I have swagger. Like I have a title behind my name, and they should all be so lucky." He let out a snicker and returned to his pint.

"Harry," George came up beside him. "We found a girl that's keen on you. You'll like her, I swear. She's just popped into the loo, then she'll be heading over to you in a minute!"

Harry opened his mouth to ask him a few questions, so he would have a frame of reference on what to expect, but George darted away.

"Oh, this'll be good," Lee snickered.

"Yeah, well. They're looking for someone for you too," he narrowed his eyes at his friend. He knew he could do with a snog. It had been a few months since he'd managed a date. Didn't help that anyone he dated was able to cotton on that he wasn't interested in anything serious with them.

"Hi Harry," came a sweet and familiar voice at his side.

Harry was grateful that he had just managed to swallow down the last of his drink before he turned to see her standing there. Surely, he would have accidentally sprayed it in her face.

Ginny was here.

Ginny was who they'd found.

He didn't put any further thought into what was happening. Ginny was here and she was the bird that was keen on snogging him. He immediately slipped out of his seat and pulled her right up against him, crushing his lips to hers in the way he'd dreamed of doing for years.

He was too drunk to register the squeak of surprise from her lips as they were pressed up against his. All he did register was how soft those lips were against his, how tight and stretchy her shirt was and how it allowed his hand on her lower back to feel how fit she was. He noticed how silky her hair was with his hand cupping her face and the gentle caress of it against the back of his hand. She smelled incredible, like strawberries with a hint of vanilla. She was such a perfect height to; he didn't have to stoop too much as he only had a few inches on her.

His head was growing dizzy as he put his whole being into the kiss. All his longing, all his desire, all his worship of the perfect goddess that she was. Finally, he was kissing her, and it was amazing.

"Oi!" a voice yelled loudly in his ear.

He pulled back from her lips, unconcerned with the loud and angry voice that was trying to call his attention. He only saw her beautiful brown eyes, open wide and staring at him, her lovely lips looking slightly more luscious than he'd seen them before.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" the same loud voice asked beside him. "Ginny, who is this?"

Harry managed to pull his eyes away from her and turn towards the voice. It was some guy in a light blue dress shirt looking outraged.

"Um," Ginny collected herself and put her hand over top Harry's, pulling it off her cheek. "Martin, this is Harry. Harry, this is Martin… my date," she said awkwardly.

"What?!" Harry asked incredulously. If she was here on a date, why did she come over to snog him?

"Uh, mate," Fred called his attention over Ginny's shoulder. There was a confused looking brunette beside him. "This is Miranda," he told him, fighting back a laugh.

"Shit," was all Harry could manage.

Ginny didn't come over to snog him, she came over to say 'hello'. Ginny detangled herself from his arms and stepped closer to 'Martin' with a large blush on her face. "Uh, happy birthday," she said awkwardly and pulled her date away by the hand and out the door.

"Mate," was all Lee said, clapping Harry on the back before he and the twins simply fell apart with laughter.

()()()

Harry needed at least one drink in him before he made his way over to her. He couldn't possibly say what he needed to say when he was 100% sober. It sounded ridiculous in his head, but it was all true.

He got a shot and quickly downed it as he watched her move on to the other side of the pub. She went over to one of the booth tables, but she didn't take a seat, she was simply standing at the end and chatting with Katie Pierce, one of the other reserve Chasers.

It didn't look like Ginny knew he was here yet and he was needing this time to pull himself together more and observe her. These last few moments would possibly be the last time that she could look at him without pity in her eyes, with no tension between them. She was going to completely crush him, but this was his Hail Mary pass. He didn't want to hold it in any longer, and not telling her was killing him. Particularly now that he was seeing her all the time and working with her.

She simply had to know how he really felt, no misunderstandings on either side.

There were a few more people that were greeting him, or inviting him in to join their conversation, and he would have, but he had a mission to accomplish first.

Ginny was on the move again and he felt a little like he was stalking her now. She headed to the coat rack by the front door and threw on her light jacket.

She couldn't be leaving this early!

He sped up and made it to the front door just before it had closed behind her.

"Ginny," he rushed after her, coming to a stop on the sidewalk and looking desperately both ways down the street to see which way she'd gone.

"I'm right here, Harry," she said from behind him.

He swirled around and saw she was standing off to the side of the door and resting back against the building.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Getting some fresh air," she told him.

The way she was holding herself, he could tell that something was off. It was probably the same something that was off between them since New Year's. And it was fine that she wasn't interested. Well, not fine, but he would survive. He just needed it out there.

She looked down at her shoes and was chewing her lip.

Her not looking at him right then was helpful. He didn't know if he would even be able to start if she was looking right at him. He would get choked up and wind up saying something stupid or just completely unrelated to what he wanted to say.

She was as beautiful as ever this evening. Her hair was down, just the way he liked it, she had on a pair of tight jeans and a pair of ballet flats, or whatever they were called, on her feet. She'd opted to put in earrings tonight as well, and had subtly applied some make-up, further enhancing her already appealing features.

"I'm in love with you," he blurted out.

Ginny looked up abruptly from her feet and locked her shocked eyes on his, her bottom lip slowly slipping out from between her teeth.

Well, his subconscious told him, you've started now, may as well tell her the rest. All together now, like we practiced.

"I'm in love with you and have been for years. I wasn't joking around when we were in school together. I know it seemed like I was, but I wasn't. It's absolute torture to see you dating other blokes and I don't think I can manage any longer without you at least knowing," he took a deep swallow. "So, here it is. I'm in love with you. I want to be with you. You're it for me. Any time someone asks me what I want my future to look like, you're in it. I can't have you thinking I'm messing around anymore. I'm dead serious about this, and if you asked, I'd marry you tomorrow to prove it. I just can't keep it to myself anymore, I needed you to know. Properly."

He did it! He said it!

Now all that was left was for her to respond however she was going to.

Boy, she was taking a long time to respond.

He had just given her a lot of information though. It was entirely possible that these two seconds since he stopped talking hadn't been long enough to process it.

()()()

Ginny wasn't entirely sure in what capacity she'd been invited to this New Year's Eve bash. Was it because she was a professional Quidditch player, because she was a Weasley, or because she was female and the ratio's needed to be even?

Either way, she wasn't going to be turning down an invite to the Potter's party.

Thing was, Harry was here. Somewhere.

She kept darting her eyes around and searching for him, trying to seem subtle about it.

She had kept trying to convince herself, when she was getting ready, that she was making all the extra effort because it was a swanky New Year's Eve party at a Lord's Manor and everyone else would be putting in the same amount of effort. That's why she'd spent hours looking for the perfect dress and called over one of her more esthetically accomplished friends to help with her make-up and hair.

Everyone else would be doing the same.

Sure enough, she wasn't the most decked out girl here. She was surrounded by people of all ages, but her eyes kept scoping out her competition.

Urgh, they aren't competition. They are simply women in her age range that have their shit together.

Women who haven't spent the past few months reliving the most amazing kiss with someone that didn't mean it.

God, it had been an _amazing_ kiss.

It might have been simply because she hadn't been prepared for it, but every time she replayed it in her head it gave her the same tingles up and down her spine and a bit of longing between her legs.

She'd kissed two other men since then and it hadn't been the same.

Martin, the bloke she'd only had a few dates with, had been there that night, he'd been livid that Harry had kissed her. She'd barely had a moment to recover from all the feelings that had surged through her body from that kiss before she needed to drag him out of the Three Broomsticks.

Martin had kissed her for the first time that night as well, but it hadn't felt anything like Harry's. Sufficed to say, she didn't see Martin again.

Then there was Oliver Wood. That's right, Oliver Wood, her former Captain and current second string Puddlemere United Keeper. They'd bumped into each other at the pub and wound up in a lip lock.

That too hadn't been as good as Harry's kiss.

Perhaps her expectations had been too high for that one. She had fancied Oliver for a solid two years when they were at school together. He hadn't been interested then, and neither of them turned out to be too interested after their short-lived snogging session. Now they were simply friendly rivals.

Really, she was desperate to know if it was a fluke. If all the chemistry between she and Harry for those few moments was imagined in her head.

He'd been joking around and teasing her about them getting together for years. He'd been really sweet about his little games, but the way he'd kissed her, that didn't feel like a game.

At the time.

Now she had no idea, but since it was New Year's she thought it might be the perfect opportunity to check and see if it was all in her head. Because everyone kissed someone at New Year's, all she had to do was stand closest to him when the clock struck twelve.

Problem was, she couldn't find him in this sea of people.

A few times she'd thought she saw him, but it turned out to be his father, who had the same messy black head of hair. She couldn't see anyone with her own coloring of hair either and she was sure that if she was invited then the twins were.

She'd forgotten to ask them at Christmas if they or Harry were going to be there, there was too much else going on.

There were plenty of people at the party that she did know, and circulating hadn't been an issue for her. The food and drink were great as well. She'd met Mrs. Potter a few times and really admired her and the way she could deal with her husband and son, Ginny didn't feel comfortable asking her where her son might be hiding though.

It was drawing nearer to midnight and she was growing less concerned about how obvious she was being in her search efforts. Then she finally spotted him. He was coming towards her.

"Hey," he greeted her with his same casual smile. "Having a good time?"

"Yeah, your mum really knows how to throw together a soiree," she mused back at him, trying not to look too deep into his eyes. She knew they were green, but hadn't noticed before _how_ green they were. They were rather captivating.

"So, look, I've got a group of us together out by the fire for watching the fireworks that are going to go off. Thought you might like to join us," he offered.

Yes, she mentally fist pumped. "Sure," she told him and let him lead the way back out towards the 'group' he was mentioning.

It was the twins, Lee Jordan and four other girls she was only familiar with by sight, save for one, Katie Bell.

"Katie!" she greeted, giving her a hug. "I didn't see you in there."

"Oh, I've been out here most of the evening. The grounds are lovely."

"They are," Ginny looked around the manicured lawn, then had a momentary panic. There were four boys and five girls, four of which had already been out here. That meant that Harry had a date and she wouldn't be getting her chance.

Suppressing her urge to pout she accepted a glass of champagne from Lee and took up on one of the empty two-seater benches, staring into the flames and tuning out everyone around her that was carrying on.

It didn't matter, she told herself, it was a one and done. A fluke.

The feeling of someone sitting down beside her had her looking up from the flames. Harry had moved over to her bench. She did a quick glance around and saw that everyone else was paired up, one of the other girls that had been out here had left. Harry was now sitting beside her and it was almost midnight. According to the giant countdown clock on the balcony, there was only two minutes left to go.

"Tell me how amazing it is to be a professional Quidditch player," he prompted.

She stared at him a moment before giving herself a mental shake. "It's… well more work than I thought it would be," she admitted to him honestly.

"Care to elaborate?" he asked.

"Just. Well, it isn't just playing Quidditch," she started, "there's loads of practices and drills, and keeping on top of your physical fitness. We also have charity events and press junkets. I mean, I'm not too involved with that."

"Yet," Harry added. "Once you're first string in a year or two your picture will be pinned up under many a canopy bed at Hogwarts."

She blushed with a grin and gave him a light shove with her shoulder. "I'm choosing not to think about that any further."

"Hey, look. It's getting on midnight, and I wondered if you'd be okay, you know, ringing in the New Year's properly."

"What happened to that fourth girl that was out here?" she instantly regretted asking that. Why should she care? That girl being gone meant he was here beside her, requesting she allow his lips on hers again. It was what she wanted! Why the hell was she bringing it up?

"Uh," he blushed, "she was just coming over to say hello. Her date is inside."

"Oh, okay," she answered easily.

"Okay?" he sounded rather happy with her answer.

"Um. Yeah, okay," she shrugged and took another casual drink from her glass.

"Okay," he nodded.

When the clock started counting down the seconds, they both turned to look at it, it was firing off a few fireworks and sparklers as the time drew nearer. When there was only ten seconds left and everyone started chanting Harry turned back to look at her with a wide grin.

She felt her face split into a matching expression, still chanting out the count down with everyone as their faces drew nearer. They got to the number one and yelled out a "Happy New Year" with everyone else, then his lips were on hers again.

And it felt just as amazing as the last time.

Better actually, because this time she had the presence of mind to close her eyes and respond.

His lips were so perfect in the way they felt and how they moved against hers. The pressure he put against her own wasn't forceful, it was determined and it was incredible. This couldn't have been two flukes in a row. He was one hell of a kisser.

She didn't register the feeling of his hands at her waist, just the lightness in her head and the sensations she was feeling from the kiss. If she'd had just a little more to drink she might have simply pulled him flush against her and kept on snogging him into the morning.

That wasn't in the cards though.

There was an explosion of sound and color that jolted her away from him.

They'd planned a bigger fireworks display. There were fire dragons and fairies and hippogriffs dancing around in the sky with a symphony of music. It was an incredible light show, and it had the twins handiwork written all over it.

"That's amazing," she grinned up at the sky.

"I may have helped with it a little bit," Harry puffed out his chest a bit.

"Yeah, thought you might have," she turned back to him. Looking at him now, it was like the rest of the party had faded away to leave just the two of them. How had it taken her this long to see him this way? He was sweet and attractive and rather brilliant.

"Harry," his name was called from a few yards away.

"Bugger," he said looking over his shoulder. "I've got some host duties to do," he told her.

"Well then, off you go young Lord Potter," she teased and gave him a playful nudge.

She watched him walk away back to the house, noticing now that her brothers and Lee were still lip locked with the girls they were out here with.

Lucky them.

Turning back towards the house her satisfied smile slipped off her face. Some girl had her arms around Harry in an all too familiar manner. He wasn't exactly prying her hands off him either. Ginny quickly turned her attention back to the flames in the fire bowl in front of her.

Two flukes, she thought sadly.

()()()

'Love, years, marry.'

She'd been thinking about him so much and trying not to think about him so much, and yet here he was, standing in front of her and literally professing his _love_ for her.

She'd been essentially dodging him since he made the team. He deserved to be there, no doubt about that, but until she managed to get her hormones under control she didn't want to be in a situation where he joked about them getting together. She didn't know if she could respond with a light-hearted response anymore.

"You love me," she stated, his whole spiel still running through her mind.

"Yes," he was so determined and exacting in his stance and tone. He was dead serious about this.

He loved her.

_He_ loved _her_.

It wasn't all just in her head! He loved her, that's why his kisses were so amazing! He was putting his whole heart behind them! Those had been loving and affectionate kisses with feelings, not just a 'whatever' snog because he was drunk, or because she was there!

None of this realization was making it through the shocked expression on her face. That much she could tell from the way he was nervously waiting for her to say something else.

She stood up straight and he sucked in a slow breath through his nose. He seemed fearful. Oh, she realized, he must have thought that she didn't return any of his affection. He was worried she'd reject him.

She didn't want to reject him! She wanted to throw herself at him.

So, she did.

His eyes grew wide as she came forward in her full-frontal assault, flinging her arms around his neck and pulling his lips back down to hers for the third time.

It was just as magical as the last two, except better because now she knew how he felt. He was putting his all behind the kiss, just as he had that first time, holding on to her like she might suddenly change her mind. She wouldn't, couldn't. Ginny had been dreaming of his lips for a year, almost to the day. The bloke she'd last been seeing was her last ditched attempt at getting Harry out of her mind and it had been completely fruitless.

There was a joyous feeling bubbling up in her chest and causing her to involuntarily giggle against his mouth. He pulled back and seemed slightly alarmed that there was a tear leaking out her eye and running down her face.

"Are you crying?" he asked, concern written all over his face.

She was beaming though. "It's a happy tear, I promise," she assured him, unable to stop her shoulders from shaking with the nervous excitement running through her.

"Happy," he repeated, wanting assurance.

"So fucking happy," she promised, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him back into a kiss.

As their lips danced together, he started walking her back against the side of the building once more. They were both eager to deepen the kiss and neither of them were able to let their hands stop wandering.

"When?" he asked through his kisses, starting to trail his mouth down the side of her face and neck.

"Last year," she panted. Their kisses had made her grow rather dizzy, she'd never felt quite this wanton with anyone before and kept listing forwards slightly, then resting her head back against the wall behind her.

"Year?!" he pulled back abruptly.

She blinked her eyes open, trying to focus on him. Nodding when she saw he was waiting for her to give him some kind of answer.

"You've wanted this for a year?" he asked, holding on a little tighter now.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you," she admitted. "And then after New Year's it just got worse."

A slow grin stretched out on his face. "Because I kissed you on my birthday?" he beamed.

"As it turns out, you are one hell of a kisser," she pulled his lips back to her again.

"I can't believe it," he muttered as he began trailing his lips down her neck again before pulling back. "Sirius was right," he exclaimed in amazement.

"Sirius? What?" the dizziness was subsiding slightly now that his lips weren't on her body anymore.

"He told me I should just shut up with the 'trying' and snog you."

"The trying?" she asked, then it dawned on her. He'd already said it after all. She felt a blush creep up her neck. "I didn't realize, in school." All the time's he had asked her out, the flower's he'd sent her. He had tried telling her several times, she had just thought he'd been joking.

"Yeah, well, I've been kicking myself over how I went about it."

The two of them laughed, eyes twinkling at each other. His eyes really were incredible. How did it take him snogging her to notice him?

"So, will you be my girlfriend then?" he asked.

"Girlfriend?" she asked with mock confusion. "I thought we were getting married."

"We can if you want to," he shrugged. "Though I'd appreciate you not stealing my thunder in that department. It'll take at least a year before I have the perfect proposal planned out."

He didn't wait to register the surprise on her face before his lips were back on hers and they lost themselves in each other once more.

They managed to pry their lips away after several long minutes, knowing they couldn't stay outside and snog all night, they were expected to go back into the pub and socialize with the rest of the Wasp crew.

"Do we tell them?" Harry asked.

She considered how that might play out. They may be jumping directly into a labelled relationship, but this was so new. It looked like he was letting her call the shot on it, which she appreciated, and the team didn't exactly have strict rules about relationships between its players, but they were both technically rookies, and they had been together for all of five minutes.

"Maybe we should just figure out how we're going to work, just us, first," she posited.

"Okay," he kissed her again. "Just don't let some other guy paw at you, alright?"

"Me?" she asked with offense. "You're the one that was kissing me at New Year's then had some tart with her hands all over you a minute later!"

His brow furrowed for a moment, not realizing what she was talking about. Then he remembered, "that wasn't what it looked like! She was an old girlfriend that couldn't take a bloody hint! I didn't want her attention and couldn't pry her off of me fast enough."

Ginny's hawk went down at the explanation. "Oh," was all she said.

()()()

Harry awoke with the biggest smile on his face the next morning.

Ginny was his girlfriend! They were together and his baring it all for her had been a success!

They hadn't managed to spend much time together after they went inside the pub. Each of them were pulled in different directions, but they did manage to get in a few heated looks. And he managed to escort her home at the end of the night, so now he knew where she lived.

One of Ginny's friends had a house that she rented a room in. It was near two in the morning when they got to her door, but he didn't stay the night with her. Instead he kissed her goodnight on her doorstep, trying to memorize all the sensations of having her body pressed up against his.

Harry rolled over and checked the time. There was no practice today, but he did have plans, one's he'd made before he successfully managed to get Ginny Weasley to agree to be his girlfriend, but now felt more need for follow through on now that she was.

He was going to find a flat today.

Growing up in Potter Manor he'd had the life of privilege, but his mother had made sure he didn't let it all go to his head. He had held jobs over his summers home from school, working as an assistant groundskeeper on a Muggle golf-course, it had been Sirius' idea. And it had given him plenty of pocket money over the years, and enough to start his own savings vault at Gringotts.

Now that he was making real money, not a lot, but enough, on the Quidditch team he wanted to get a place of his own and try not to need to touch the family money that had been set aside for him. Well, maybe he'd use that for furnishings, but for the rent and such he wanted to pay his own way. Today he was meeting with a few landlords to check out some places. Hopefully he'd find the perfect place and Ginny could help him set it up with decorations and the like.

That idea painted a nice picture in his mind.

By the end of the day he'd seen two shit holes, two places with potential and one winner.

The further away from London center he went the more reasonable the pricing, but the flats were well shabbier.

The place he'd found was in Hove. It was nice, it was nice enough for now anyhow, and right by the sea with a pebble beach. It was in a magical building, so he could Apparate into the foyer and have furniture delivered right there. He was so eager to see Ginny and tell her the news that he Apparated straight to her house rather than home to tell his parents he was moving out.

He knocked on the door of the house he'd been at only twelve hours earlier and it swung inwards at the force of his knock.

"Hello?" he called out, no one answered though.

Feeling a little like he was intruding he stepped tentatively further into the house. At the Burrow everyone was expected to simply walk in and roam the house unannounced, but he didn't know the other two people Ginny lived with and didn't want to startle them.

"Hello?" he called out again.

There was some noise coming from the back of the house and he headed towards it. It was a nice older home that she was living in. The foyer branched off in three directions, forwards and up the stairs, right to a closed door, or to the left through the archway that led into a sitting room.

The sitting room led to a large kitchen which had another archway with a few steps down into what looked like a disused summer kitchen/pottery studio. He kept following the noise and saw that there was a door to the back yard and there were three young women sitting around a patio table and enjoying the sunshine.

He grinned at the sight of Ginny sitting there with her housemates, one leg tucked up on her chair and carrying on. She was so beautiful, particularly in her lovely short overall's. He'd seen her wearing them before and they'd been insanely attractive on her then as they were now, he couldn't pin down exactly what it was about her in those that sent his libido into overdrive.

He knocked gently on the inside of the exterior door so he wouldn't startle them all by it suddenly swinging open.

"Harry!" Ginny jumped up from her spot and came towards him, greeting him with a kiss.

He could definitely get used to this. He wound his arms around her waist and kissed her back.

Ginny pulled back first. "Guys, this is him!" she exclaimed brightly.

"Yeah, we figured as much," the one girl chuckled.

Harry was surprised to hear an American accent from her. She was grinning up at him from the other side of the table with her dark hair in a braid down her back and blue eyes with a wide smile. "Hi, I'm Trina," she waved.

"I'm Penelope," the other greeted him. "You might remember me from school. I was in Ravenclaw, in Ginny's year."

"I do!" he was pretty sure she dated Percy for a time. "Hi. Nice to properly meet you."

"I may have been talking about you," Ginny blushed.

"Gushing is more like it," Trina teased.

"Gushing, eh?" Harry asked. "What's she been gushing exactly? I'm pretty sure I told her my side of it completely last night, but I didn't get too much from her side of it." Ginny led him to take a seat and sat back down in her own.

"Oh, you know, how she's been pining over you for a year and was worried you'd just keep playing your teasing little games," Penelope started.

"And how she just about shagged out outside the pub last night," Trina carried on.

"I did not say shagged!" Ginny defended herself with a laugh.

"Oh right! What you actually said was-"

"Hey, Harry," Ginny cut Trina off, "want to see the house?"

Harry was more eager in that moment to hear what it was that Ginny had actually told her friends. Her wanting to shag him outside the pub was music to his ears, hearing what it was verbatim that she said certainly didn't sound like it would wound him.

He let her guide him into the house by the hand though.

"They're great friends, but a little starved for gossip it seems," she tried to excuse them and made her way back through the kitchen and sitting room to the door on the other side of the foyer. She opened it and he found himself in another little sitting room with a kitchenette with an archway leading to a bedroom.

"Oh, you have your own little flat in here," he remarked.

"Yeah, and there's a loo with a shower through the bedroom, but the only tub in the house is upstairs."

"It's still really nice. Perfect for just one person." He stuck his head beyond the archway and caught sight of a rather large loo with a shower big enough for four people to have stood in. "This is a very interesting house."

"It is," she beamed happily. "It's been updated several times over the year. Used to belong to Penny's eccentric aunt. She was an artist with several ex-husbands and nothing to do with her time. She left it to Penny when she passed two years ago. I moved in with her straight out of school."

She was resting back against the counter of her little kitchenette, there was a nervous energy coming off her that he himself was experiencing. Treading in the new waters of a budding relationship he'd been wanting for years, it was understandable and unavoidable.

"I found a flat today," he told her.

"Really?!"

"Yeah. Didn't want to live at home forever. Found a place by Brighton. It isn't much, but it's independence, you know? Um, privacy," he couldn't help himself blushing.

"Privacy, eh," she cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah," his eyes went down to her lips.

Her hand reached out to take his own and a moment later they were back in each other's arms, lip locked in a passionate embrace standing in the middle of her room. She pushed him slightly in the direction of the bedroom and he was grateful for her taking the lead in that decision.

They fell back against the bed, laying side by side and scooching up so they were on it properly. The heat between them simply kept building as their hands wandered frantically and lips found new spots of flesh on each other to taste and discover.

"Ginny," he said against her lips. "I haven't. I've kind of been, um." He couldn't get the words out. Her hand was under his shirt and running up and down his back. They were both adults and agreed they were together now with titles assigned and all, but she'd been what he wanted since he was thirteen. That didn't mean he was lacking in experiences with other girls, but those experiences had only gone so far.

"You've been?" she asked, hooking her leg over his hip and turning them both so she was on top of him.

She sat up and he was very much enjoying the sight of her straddling him, her hair all mussed from his hands and her lips swollen and darker.

"You. It's. Since I was," he trailed off slightly.

"Not so good with your words today, are you?" she teased, making a small movement with her hips that caused him to notice just how turned on he was from their activity. His erection was stuck just along the indent of her legs, so very close to her center.

"I'm a virgin," he blurted out.

His eyes were locked on hers, waiting for her reaction. It was embarrassing for him to admit, but Ginny didn't look like she minded at all.

"Really?" she asked breathlessly, twirling her hips again.

He groaned at the feeling and nodded, managing to open his eyes again and see the pleased blush that came to her face. There was a twinkle in her eye.

"Were you saving yourself for me?" she asked with a tilt of her head, only a small amount of teasing in her question.

He nodded again.

"Good to know," she stated wryly, then lowered herself down so her lips were right by his ear. "So am I," she whispered.

"Really?!" he nearly shouted, causing her to sit back upright at the abrupt volume. "Sorry," he blushed. "I'm just. I mean, you're _so._ And I know what you said, about… a year, but still."

"You're pleased," she surmised.

"Yes," he finished his blathering, his hands coming up to rest on her hips

She bit her lip, her features still alight, but uncertain. "This is still rather new between us," she started.

"I'm not expecting anything," he told her quickly. "I'm just thrilled to be with you." Being in her bed with her on top of him was indeed incredibly thrilling.

"Good," she lowered herself back down. "We'll just see what happens, yeah?"

"Yeah," he grinned, honestly satisfied with simply being able to kiss her. This was plenty for him right then, well more than he thought he'd be getting at this time yesterday.

()()()

Ginny was beside herself with joy at how well her life seemed to be going. She had a great place to live, a bloody fantastic job, and an amazing boyfriend.

She and Harry had been together for a month and in all that time of squeezing in a date here and stopping by each other's place there, they hadn't really discussed one very important thing. They'd been too preoccupied when they got together for this subject to come up. She was helping him furnish his flat and make it a home, they were talking about Quidditch plays or interesting gossip about the other players on the team. Or their mouths were busy with other things.

They both simply learning more about each other and were putting it off.

The thing was, the night they got together they said they weren't going to tell the team right away, but that turned into neither of them telling their family's either. It was supposed to be until they figured out the relationship themselves without any outside pressure, but after a month she was feeling like this was pretty solid.

Penny and Trina were the only in her circle that knew, and thankfully they respected her privacy enough not to share her news with anyone else. They really liked Harry too. He'd been over for dinner a few times and the four of them all got on together famously.

She knew that her brothers liked Harry, obviously. But they liked Harry as just Harry, not as their sister's boyfriend who was getting intimate with her.

Ginny also knew that his family liked her. They didn't know her too well, but every interaction she'd had with the Potter's, or even Sirius Black a few times, they'd all been good experiences.

"Are we getting too in our heads about this?" she asked him. They were at his place for dinner, it was a Saturday night and he decided he was going to cook for her. It was amusing to watch him flit around his dinky little kitchen and try to assemble the whatever it was that he was pulling together. She had a sneaking suspicion that they would wind up grabbing fish and chips from down the road once he was done beating the dead horse.

"It isn't like we're out an out lying to anyone. We simply haven't been asked if we're seeing anyone," he reasoned.

"Well. I can understand us keeping it from the team, but I don't know how wise it is to keep it from our families for much longer. I feel like if we wait until we're at the three-month point or something and then let them know, they'll be angry."

"Well, just tell me what you'd like to do," he shrugged.

"Harry," she closed her eyes a moment and shook her head. That was basically what he'd told her about everything. "Could you please start making some of the decisions here? I don't want to be the one making all the calls about the big things." She wasn't angry about it, more exasperated. "Man up," she told him, not in a harsh way.

"Oh," he turned around from the stove. "You want me to man up, do you?" he asked, a smirk on his face. He waved his wand at the food cooking at the stove and the pots and lids stopped bubbling. He came to stand in front of her in the archway she'd been standing in to keep out of the way and took the glass out of her hand.

She liked it when he got like this. There was a lusty look in his eye, and he pushed her back against the strip of wall behind her. When he went all 'caveman' on her it always got her going. He lowered his head to her neck and kissed her right where she liked, making her sigh and rest her head back. He'd got quite good at discovering all the places on her body she liked to be kissed, all the places to make her moan and rock against him. She had spent a good amount of time enjoying the feel of his body against her skin and explored all of it with her hands.

He pulled back from her neck and made sure she was looking straight at him. "Tonight, we're having sex."

The muscles inside her responded to that instantly, clenching and growing warm. Her face felt equally hot with desire.

"Yes," she breathed out.

There was a flash in his eyes. She knew he wasn't the demanding type, her agreeing to that was what he'd wanted to hear.

Wasting no more time he captured her lips and guided her back towards his bedroom, dinner completely forgotten. Stumbling through his flat while their mouths devoured each other, clothes being discarded along the way, they made it to his bedroom. She tugged at the belt at his waist.

They'd made it this far before, stripped down to their underclothes. This was the first time they were going to take those underclothes off though. She made the first move, reaching behind her to unclasp her bra and letting it slide down her front.

His eyes went straight to her breasts, his hands at her waist coming up to touch them gently. Ginny almost let out a giggle at _how_ gently he was touching her. It made goosebumps spread out all over her body. Her fingers gripped around his boxers and she gave a soft tug down. They caught on his erection. Giving them a firmer tug, she couldn't help but stare as he sprang free of the cloth. She'd felt it before, against her body and with her hand, but hadn't seen it. She'd gotten a good sense of what she was dealing with when she'd touched him before, but now she was looking at it unencumbered by clothes and darkness, it seemed almost daunting to her.

Now she knew what Harry was feeling when he stared at her bared chest.

She was doing this though. She wanted to do this.

Moving her eyes up to his she saw he was looking nervous, waiting for her go ahead to move forward. She pulled him by the neck up against her once more, relishing the feeling of his chest against hers, his one hand rising to fondle at her breast with enthusiasm now.

They fell back on the bed grasping at each other and shimmying her knickers down. Harry rolled to lay on top of her. "You're sure?" he asked, his mouth lowering to kiss the swell of her breasts.

"Yes," she panted. She could already feel how ready she was for him. This moment had been building since they had gotten together.

His hand came between them, at his touch she spread her legs even further to let him nestle properly. He was grasping himself firmly, directing the head of his erection towards her. She lowered her hand as well to try and help.

"Don't," he panicked.

"What?" she snatched her hand back, worried she'd done something wrong.

"Just. This is what I've been fantasizing about for so long. I just don't want to, you know, end it too soon," he admitted.

"Oh," she smiled, feeling more confident and comfortable at those words. Instead she tilted her hips up to meet him, a puff of breath escaping her at the sensation of his bulbous head pressing against her entrance. It felt even larger than it looked against her virgin hole.

She bit her lip as he pressed forward, breathing through the pressure of him.

He was moving forwards slowly inside her and she couldn't quite tell if it was good or bad, the sensations she was experiencing. There was just a swell of feelings and incredible pressures.

As he began thrusting forward and back in small movements she knew that it was good.

So good.

Moans were escaping her mouth that she didn't have control over. She just felt so… the best way to describe it was 'full'. The absolute best kind of full. Him on top of her and inside her, just completely all encompassing.

Too soon though Harry was groaning and his thrusts became short jerking movements, then his weight settled more firmly on top of her.

Ginny didn't know what to do then. Harry was laying on top of her, clearly spent, but she was still worked up and eager for her own release. Should she tell him that she hadn't gotten her own finish? Shouldn't he be able to tell? He'd gotten her off before when they'd been touching, he should have known what she was like when she climaxed.

"Ginny," Harry whispered.

"Yeah?" she tried not clench herself around his erection that was still inside her.

"I'm sorry," he told her.

Ginny turned her head towards his. He was sorry? Harry propped himself up on his elbows and was looking bashfully down at her.

"I just. It felt so good."

"I agree," she told softly.

"But you didn't," he swallowed.

Ginny couldn't stop herself from squirming a bit then. No, she didn't, and she was still in need of her own release, rather antsy for it. Harry's eyes began fluttering at her subtle movements. "I still need," she started, but didn't know how to properly form the words. "Can you, um, go again? Or, you know, use other methods?" she blushed, then smiled widely at how ridiculous it was that she was embarrassed to ask he touch her when he was still inside her.

"Yes," he breathed out like he'd been waiting for that opportunity.

They both made satisfied sounds as he pulled out. Her heart-beat picked up as his mouth began trailing kisses down her chest, his hand lowering at a faster pace and settling between her legs. She purred and arched her back at the feel of his fingers against her.

It wasn't the same, but it was a more familiar feeling. Harry wasn't too sure what he was doing, but she tried to tell him what she liked with her moans and encouraging hip thrusts as his fingers slipped inside of her, his palm pressed against her clit.

Harry worked at her and kept her in a state of ecstasy forever. "How long do you have to wait?" she panted, feeling like there could be lines of heat coming off of her with how hot she was.

"Wait for what?"

"Until you're hard again?" she almost whimpered, wishing he was back inside her.

"You want me to-"

"Yes!" she cried in demand.

Harry wasted no time climbing back on top of her and replacing his fingers with his returned erection.

This time they cried out their exultation together at the feel of their joining.

It didn't take Ginny long with how stimulated she had been, and it felt less strange than the first time. She locked her legs around his and ground against him, the length of him hitting a spot inside her that was making her cry out in pleasure as his pelvis rocked against her clit.

As the waves of pleasure that had been building finally crashed over her, her arms flew up to the headboard behind her. "Harry!" she nearly screamed as her orgasm rocked her.

Harry started rutting into her desperately as she rode out her orgasm, continuing on well after she'd come down from her high. It still felt good, but it was an interesting feeling to have him carrying on when she wasn't working towards her finish. It was rather hot to have him riding her like this though, almost unaware of her presence, just carrying on in search of his finish. It wasn't too much longer until he found it.

Harry cried out his second finish and rolled to lay beside her, gasping for breath. "Holy shit," he panted.

Ginny bit her lip and shook with silent laughter. It wasn't funny, but perhaps it was simply her nerves settling. She calmed down and cuddled up beside him, sighing as they adjusted to lay comfortably together.

"Pretty sure dinner is ruined," Harry commented offhand.

"Was it ever going to wind up being edible in the first place?" she murmured.

"Probably not," he admitted.

Ginny kissed him under his chin. "We'll get some take away when we wake up," she told him, then closed her eyes and found herself slipping into a very easy sleep.

()()()

Harry was the last into the changeroom after a hard day of practice. Today was the bi-monthly check up with the Healer and Harry was the last on the team to get checked out as he was the youngest and newest player.

He'd been examined when he first started on the team, but now the personal questions that he had to answer required a few follow up questions, the one's regarding his sex life. He was sure his face was as red as a tomato when he finished up his examination and he was grateful there wasn't anyone waiting around after.

Harry supposed most everyone on the team had to answer the same questions, but this was his first time having to go over the forms of contraception he was using and what do to if certain issues arose from said sex life.

He still needed a shower before he left the stadium. The poor Healer was a champ for sitting there and not saying anything or making a face over the body odor coming off him. Having to put his clothes back on after the examination had been rather gross. Pulling them off again now was a relief.

"That's right, nice and slow," came Ginny's voice from the doorway.

Harry started, "Merlin, trying to give me a heart attack?"

"You just had your check up, pretty sure you're okay," she shrugged as she made her way towards him.

"Might want to keep your distance," he warned. "I smell rank."

"I've smelled you when you were all hot and sweaty before," she grinned and tugged on the drawstring of his shorts.

Harry's eyebrows went up. Was she wanting to get it on in the changeroom? They'd had sex a few times now, and he'd done everything he could to try and make up for the less than stellar first time, but they hadn't ventured out of each other's bedrooms. "Here?" he asked.

Ginny gave him a coy smile, "I've been waiting for you for a while," she admitted, her voice lowering. "My minds had some time to wander all sorts of places." She started kissing along the side of his neck then nipped lightly at his ear.

Harry's eyelids drooped at the sensation. He loved it when she played with him like this.

"Want me to soap you up?" she whispered in his ear.

He grinned in response and pulled off the rest of his clothes while she headed for the showers, stripping off her shirt as she went.

God, he loved the way they were with each other now. At first, they'd been a bit shy about baring it all in front of each other, hiding under blankets, or with the comfort of darkness and simply using their hands to guide them. Gradually the sheets fell away, the jaunts between the bedroom and bathroom didn't require a shirt, the lights stayed on. Now they were both comfortable with each other seeing it all.

The showers in the change room had private doors leading to each of them with a small area for changing or toweling off before the curtained stall. Ginny stood in front of one and made a little show of slipping her trousers over her bum before casting him a wink over her shoulder.

She had started the water by the time he caught up with her and was getting her hair wet. It was what his wet dreams had been made of, seeing her there like that.

"Harry, I've got an itch I can't quite take care of myself. Think you can help me out?" she asked in a low and sultry tone as her hands ran down her bare chest.

Merlin, he loved this woman.

He wasted no more time before joining her in the shower and slowly pressing her back against the tile, their wet and naked flesh rubbing against each other as they both set about causing the others lips to develop that lovely 'just snogged' plumpness.

Harry lowered his head to lavish more kisses on her chest, massaging one of her breasts with one hand before taking a nipple between his teeth on the other and nipping her so she would make that adorable squeak she did. He'd discovered that she couldn't control herself when he did this, she'd admitted she wasn't sure whether she liked it or not, it just gave her 'all the feels'. If he did it when they were in bed together she'd essentially buck him like a bronco unless he held her down. Right then though, she simply grit her teeth and pulled on his hair while she squirmed.

Ginny tugged on his hair hard enough that he had knew she wanted him to stop. Then she pushed him sideways so he was the one pressed up against the other wall of the shower. "Now, I thought I was supposed to be soaping you up?"

"Go ahead" he encouraged, "soaps right there." There was a dispenser propped up beside the shower head.

Ginny got a good amount in her hands, then rubbed it into a lather and looked him over as though unsure what to start with. Harry couldn't help getting some soap in his own hands and they took their time running their hands over each other, slowly working their hands downwards.

Her hands were going lower and lower and finally made their way between his legs, stroking thoroughly along his length. He gave a small jump when one of her hands went under to give a little tug to his balls.

"Like that?" she asked in her low voice.

"Oh yeah," he sighed. If were up to him she'd just keep in this state for hours. It was the worlds best massage. "I love you," he muttered in a daze.

"What?" her voice came, sharper than it had been.

Harry's eyes snapped open at that. Ginny was staring at him in surprise.

He'd said that to her before. The night they got together; he'd poured his heart out to her and she'd even repeated his words back to him. But he hadn't said it again since then, so perhaps it did sound sudden to her that he was saying it to her now.

Choosing his current state of arousal over stopping to have that conversation, he simply leaned forward and kissed her again, not letting her lips leave his long enough for her to get a word in edgewise. Soon enough he felt her responding with equal vigor.

His hand came between her legs, she moaned against his mouth when his fingers stroked her. "Will you just shag me already," she purred.

"As the lady wishes," he told her, placing both his hands firmly at her hips and crouching down slightly, positioning himself right at her entrance and slipping inside her easily.

Ginny's legs wrapped around his thighs, her hands braced against either side of the shower walls as he began thrusting back and forth. She gyrated her hips against him and they rocked together in a steady rhythm, the sound of their bodies meeting repeatedly under the spray of the shower head causing echo's of slapping sounds to resonate throughout the stall.

Harry felt Ginny approaching her finish. The way her body would hold him inside her pulsating with tightening and slackening grip until it was suddenly unbelievably tight inside her; he craved that feeling all the time. It never failed to make his eyes roll back in his head and his body demand its own release.

He gave a long grunt as his own orgasm tore through him, his head coming down to rest on her shoulder with a satisfied sigh.

"That's not the first time I told you that," he said as his mind came back down from the clouds they'd been in. Lust may have won out in its determination to delay that conversation, but they were having it now. He'd told her he loved her before, and he wasn't looking for her to say it back to him if it was too soon, but he didn't want her looking at him with surprise every time he said it.

Harry raised his head and helped her grow steady on her own feet again. "I love you," he told her once more, looking directly into her eyes and watching carefully for her reaction.

She didn't look surprised to hear it this time, she looked satiated. There was an openness to her expression, like she was fully accepting of his feelings, but there was some uncertainty there as well.

"You don't have to say it back," he assured her calmly. "But I need you to at least be comfortable hearing it."

Ginny smiled softly up at him, running her hand up the side of his face and into his hair to pull him down for a sweet kiss. "I want to say it, but this is all still rather new to me."

"Two months is new?"

"Yes," she giggled. "Our relationship is still a baby. One that's taken some very serious strides, sure, but it is still early on."

"So, you just… care for me," he knew he sounded more depressed about that than he wanted to.

"Harry, until not that long ago I thought this was all in my head. You were just my younger brothers' best friend. One who hit on me as a joke and just happened to be the best snog of my life and I had developed a crush on. Now, I want to be with you all the time, I miss you when we're apart, I'd cry my eyes out if you decided I wasn't worth it," she admitted. "It's just, I've never told any of my boyfriends that I loved them, and _when_ I say it to you for the first time it isn't going to be when we're about to shag in the shower."

Harry felt a weight lift off his chest. "Yeah?" he grinned.

"Yes," she kissed him again. "You got a big romantic sweeping declaration. I want that too."

"Fair enough," he chuckled.

()()()

It was amazing really, how they managed to play it cool around each other when with their teammates, friends and family. Harry had been invited to a get together or two at the Burrow, luckily the twins already knew he had a thing for Ginny, so when he was caught staring at her he would just get some light razing.

They had the cool act down pat, but Christmas was fast approaching, and Harry didn't want to have to keep it a secret anymore.

"And there is a big get together at my family house this year that basically everybody is going to, you'll be getting an invite as well, and I want to go together," he finished telling her as they were spending the evening out shopping for gifts for their loved ones.

"Okay," Ginny said breezily as she looked over the Christmas ornaments on display.

Harry was caught off guard by that. He'd been ready to pull in another deep breath to carry on about how it had been several months now, and they were clearly solid in this relationship, barely spending a night apart and how it was simply time.

"Okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she turned to grin at him. "I agree. It's time to tell."

"Everyone? Are you sure?" They'd been so careful up until now, he needed to know if it was just families, or the team as well.

Ginny pulled him to her by the front of his jacket and kissed him firmly on the lips. "Everyone," she told him firmly.

"Truly?" his eyes lit up with excitement.

"Truly," she grinned. "Oh, excuse me," she stopped an older lady walking around them in the store. "Hi. I'm Ginny, this is Harry, and we're a couple."

"That's nice, dear," the lady said with a bewildered look on her face before continuing on with her shopping.

Harry started chuckling. "Not exactly what I meant, but okay."

Ginny just turned back to him, giving him and exuberant kiss and pulling back with a 'mwah' sound. "Now come on. We still have a lot of people to shop for." She was as bubbly as he felt while they made their way from store to store, stopping now and again for a quick snog.

Holiday shopping with Ginny was fun, Harry was rubbish at buying presents and generally just stuck to Quidditch related things. She, on the other hand, liked to get things that kept people entertained, such as Muggle board games and toys. She found toy light sabers for the twins and was going to enchant them so that they lit up properly and gave little shocks when they took a hit from the other one. The twins would love that.

They carried it all back to Harry's flat and were going to spend the evening wrapping them up and decorating with the meager garish holiday tinsel and ornaments they picked up to make his place Christmasy.

"Hey Harry?" Ginny stopped him before he opened the door to his flat.

Harry turned to face her; eyebrows raised.

"I love you," she stated.

His eyes went wide and he could only stare at her in shock for a moment. She said it, she'd actually said it. All this time he'd felt like she returned his affection, but he didn't have any verbal confirmation, only the looks and touches they shared, the little gestures they did for each other to make their lives slightly easier.

That moment he was taking must have seemed too long for her though. She looked uncertain that she should have said it now.

It was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"Awe," he said, with a condescending tilt of his head. "That is so sweet."

Ginny knew instantly he was taking the mickey and rolled her eyes.

"That isn't exactly the romantic declaration I was expecting," he continued. "Where are the flowers? The music? Hell, it isn't even snowing out. I thought you were going to give me some clichés, woman. Isn't that what you were making me wait for?"

Ginny scoffed, "fine then. See if I ever say it to you again." She huffed and stood back on her heels with a pout. She probably would have crossed her arms if they weren't laden down with bags.

"Oh, I'll get you to say it again," he smirked, opening the door to his flat.

"You sound rather sure of yourself," she followed him into the entryway and shook her head before giving a huff. "I can't believe you. Four months you're waiting for me to tell you I love you back and when I finally do say it, your reaction is 'Awe', as if I'm some adorable puppy or something."

"There, you just said it again," he grinned.

"You are such a shit," she grumbled in exasperation.

Harry wasn't buying it though. Her eyes were still twinkling far too much for her to be truly upset with him. "And you love me anyways," he put his bags down on the floor and pulled her up against him, wrapping his arms tight around her waist. "Say it," he coaxed.

She shook her head defiantly.

Harry nipped under ear. "I love you, Ginny," he whispered in ear.

Ginny merely pursed her lips in response.

He moved kissed his way up to her lips along her jaw, not letting her stubborn unresponsiveness stop him from carrying on until she relented. He kissed along the other side of her jaw and to just below her other ear. "I love you, Ginny," he whispered in that ear, this time he didn't say it teasingly, he said it how he meant it.

She relaxed against him and kissed him back. "I love you too, Harry."

"Finally!"

The two of the jumped apart as the voice boomed out from Harry's sitting room. They hadn't realized they weren't alone. Sirius was there with Fred and Lee, the later two looking in shock.

"What, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"What are we doing here?" Fred asked. "We were here to take you out! Since when has this been going on?" he gestured between the two of them, still embracing in the entryway.

Harry and Ginny looked back at each other with wide eyes. They _had_ just decided it was time to tell people after all, this may as well be the way of it. She didn't look like she was bothered by it, in fact, she had a rather amused expression.

"A few months," Harry told them, his face caught between a grin and a grimace. These were two of his best friends and his uncle and he'd hidden this major life development from them. There was bound to be some resentment from them about not being informed.

"Months?" Lee repeated quietly. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Well," Ginny pushed Harry gently, picking up her bags from off the floor and carried them through to the main room, launching into her side of how Harry had finally manned up and professed his undying love for her, and they'd been together ever since.

Harry let her tell the story, enjoying the look in her eye and smile on her face as she did, while exchanging smug glances with their company.

He'd finally got the girl of his dreams and convinced her she was in love with him.

Eight more months and he'd convince her to marry him, like he'd promised that night at the pub.

()()()

**AN- Had confirmation from a reliable source that this counts as the 'Role Reversal' square on Smut Bingo! Yay! **

**Not too keen on posting the other kind of role reversal ;)**


	27. Cross

**AN- Angry Smut Bingo square is being claimed for this one!**

**()()()**

**Cross**

**()()()**

"I told you this was going to happen," Harry slammed the door shut into their house.

Ginny kicked off her shoes, rolling her eyes at the never-ending rant her husband was carrying on.

"Same guy, every week and now he isn't even owling them, he's sneaking into your locker room," he continued.

"I know, Harry!" she yelled. "I. Know. I was there. In fact, I was the one that found the letter and brought it to security."

"Well you should have brought it to security sooner. Maybe when I pointed it out weeks ago," he argued.

Ginny let out an exasperated growl and chucked her bag in the entryway closet. "Just let it go! They're dealing with it." She stomped off to the kitchen, attempting to gain some distance from him, but he wasn't letting that happen.

"Let it go? How am I supposed to let it go? You're my wife. I'm concerned for your safety."

"I'm NEVER alone, what do you think is going to happen to me?" Ginny pulled open the door to the ice box, but because they had been circling around in this fight since he'd found her at the security office after her game, she found she wasn't actually hungry anymore, she was too mad to assemble something for dinner.

"Guys like these will find a way. He's clearly obsessed with you. I think I have a right to make a fuss about that. And he's calling you Ginny 'Weasley'. Do you not think I should be pissed off about that too?"

That earned him another eye roll from his wife. "Oh yes, by all means, pound your chest like a caveman, stake your claim." Her hand went up to the letters on top of the ice box, to the stash of mail from Harry's own admirers, and pulled them down, throwing them one at a time in his direction while reading off the names. "Janice Everson, she's keen on shagging you. Patricia Marshall, she tricked her beau into looking like you. Tina Beggs wants to have your babies," she kept going down the list of women that sent him letters incessantly.

"These women aren't breaking in to drop the letters off," he pointed out dismissively.

"No, they've just been obsessed with you since Riddle's downfall and sending you fan mail ever since," Ginny shook her head and turned back to the food they had on hand. Nothing was looking appealing.

"It's not the same."

Ginny shut the door to the icebox in frustration and caught today's date on the calendar affixed the door, it had been circled. She growled at the sight of it, this was not the night for that to happen, and yet they were on a schedule.

She turned around and crossed her arms, facing him. "Have you said your piece enough yet?"

"No," he stated defiantly.

Ginny glared at him. He loved her, she loved him, but that didn't stop them from getting in spats like this. She understood that he was concerned something would happen to her because this fan was keen on her, but she didn't need him to carry on endlessly because of it.

She'd found the letter, taken it to security, they'd figure out who he was and take care of it. Just because Harry was an Auror he thought he should be the one tracking this guy down himself.

And then what? Showing him his wedding band and pictures from their ceremony to prove that Ginny was already married? Everyone knew she was married. It had been splattered all over the tabloids despite the effort they'd made to keep reporters far away from their nuptials. The Wizarding world knew they were married.

"Fine, keep ranting, but we have to shag," she headed towards the bedroom.

"What?! Ginny," he followed her down the hallway. "You can't just take off your clothes to end an argument! I'm mad at you."

She rounded on him and gave him a slight push against the wall. "I _know_ that you're mad at me. Because apparently I don't freak out enough. What is it exactly you want me to do here Harry? Curl up in a ball and cry until they find him? Jump at loud noises?"

"You could be a little less flippant about it."

"You had Voldemort chasing after you your entire Hogwarts career. You never let that stop you from playing Quidditch, sneaking off wherever at night, _looking for danger_. Fuck sake Harry, you wandered into an Acromantuala lair and _sacrificed yourself_. All I am doing is MY JOB."

()

"Why can't you just take some time off until they figure out who it is?" He didn't bother trying to defend his previous actions. Ginny knew everything that had happened to him, and he had been very reckless and made a lot of mistakes. But he'd learned from them and he was terrified that this fan might somehow hurt Ginny.

"Well if you fuck me right now then there's a good chance that I'll be done for a while after this season," she told him.

Harry opened his mouth, all set to argue, but whatever argument was half formed in his mind had nothing to do with what she'd just said. His eyes closed when he realized what she was talking about. "Shit," he knocked his head back against the wall gently. "Today?"

"And the next two days as well. Lucky you," she told him sarcastically.

"I don't want to do it like this," he told her.

"Why not? Can't get it up?" Ginny crossed her arms and glared at him.

If he wasn't on his way to being angry before, that comment sure did it. "Are you fucking kidding me? Don't be like that!" They were in an argument, sure, but that was a low blow. Ginny tended not to think when she was angry and lost the filter between her mind and mouth.

Her face screwed up and went a bit redder because she knew she'd crossed a line. "I'm sorry," she chewed out. "Are you coming or not?" she gestured in the direction of their bedroom.

"I'm not exactly in the mood right now," he pointed out plainly.

Ginny closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath. "Harry, we've talked about this. We've tried the last three months with no success. If it doesn't happen in the next three nights then we're putting it off for another year."

He knew this. When they decided it was time to start having a family they figured it would be pretty instantaneous, her getting pregnant. But it wasn't. Ginny had worked out how to time it so when she got pregnant she would be able to play to the end of the Quidditch season and only miss one full season due to pregnancy and having a new baby. If they didn't get her pregnant this month then the timing just didn't work for her and they agreed that they would wait another year.

Neither of them wanted to wait another year though.

He knew she was already upset that it hadn't happened right away, that was why after the second month of no results she'd tracked her ovulation cycle and circled the days on the calendar in the kitchen. These three days were supposed to have the both of them 'trying for a baby' at every opportunity they got. He'd been looking forward to it, he hadn't anticipated being in a fight, but he couldn't just shove his anger aside.

Anger, however, would not stop him from from getting a hard on and accomplishing his task.

"Fine," he walked around her and went to the bedroom.

"Fine what?" she asked hotly as she followed behind him.

"What do you mean 'fine what'? Fine, let's just shag then."

"When you're still all pissy with me like this?" she asked incredulously.

Harry pulled his shirt over his head and started undoing the buckle on his belt. "Well, we've a limited time frame, don't we?"

Ginny gaped at him from the doorway. "And what say we do get pregnant from this go 'round, you really want our first born to be brought into the world this way? You're still irrationally angry at me."

"You know what's irrational?" he asked, pulling off his socks. "You thinking we're going to sit people down and tell them the mood we were in when I knocked you up. Didn't think that one through, did you?"

He could see her jaw clenching from where he was. Her eyes narrowed at him and she squared her shoulders. She got like this when she was told she couldn't do something but was defiant about proving them wrong. Striding into the room she shucked her clothes off as well.

It didn't matter that he was in a bad mood, his wife was still hot. The head on his shoulders wasn't entirely game for this yet, but the one between his legs still wanted to say hello to his favorite hiding spot.

Ginny climbed naked onto the bed and lay there propped up on her elbows and looking at him expectantly with a frown.

"Why don't you turn around if you're going to be like that," he told her. He didn't need her giving him that look while he was trying to put a baby inside her. Pretty sure no one was going to ask which position their future child was going to be conceived in either.

Ginny glared at him and there was a flash of a snarl on her upper lip before she rolled over and took one of her pillows, hugging it to her front between her belly and the mattress, simply waiting for him.

Harry's fists clenched. He was only concerned about her safety when it came to this crazed fan and she didn't seem to care in the slightest.

He climbed onto the bed and held himself over top of her. Feeling slightly malicious about their fight he gave her bum a slap, liking the sound of her squeak of surprise followed by a growl. Wasting no time he dipped his hand between her legs and immediately dipped two fingers inside her.

Ginny drew in a sharp gasp, "Harry!" she growled.

"What," he asked her seditiously, "I read that book you had, I know you need to be good and wet first. Or did you want me to do you while you're still not ready for me?" He pumped is fingers as deep inside her as they would go, resting back to watch what he was doing with growing arousal. The sight of what he was doing to her was getting him hotter.

She didn't seem to be getting as turned on by this as he was though.

Harry couldn't help his condescending smirk before he added anther finger and was rewarded with her flinch and gasp. He might have felt like this was bordering on BDSM if she wasn't unconsciously rocking back against his fingers and starting to get wetter.

Her body was betraying her.

Judging she was wet enough he came over top of her and pulled his fingers out, replacing them with his erection and not being too gentle about it either, he slid inside her quickly in one move. He felt her clench beneath him and saw her hands fisting in the sheets and immediately felt bad about how he'd just done that.

Forcing himself to calm down, he covered her hands with his own and started slowly thrusting in and out of her. His mercy though seemed to have irritated her because she turned her head and bit his arm. Nipping at it none too nicely and growling.

"Argh," he pulled that arm away from her immediately and put it to her hip to hold her in place. "If you're going to be that way then."

Harry sat back to rest on his knees, upright, and pulled her down the bed so she was dragged back against his hips and firmly placed before him, lifting her bum up and holding on to both her hips. Then he started thrusting at a pace that he knew made her cry out loudly but was really all about his pleasure.

Generally, when they were in bed, he tried to get her twice to his one, but not tonight. If she was going to be obstinate about her own safety, then perhaps she didn't deserve an orgasm. They only needed him to be the one that came anyhow.

Being selfish didn't come naturally to Harry, but in this case he would make an exception. He barreled into her over and over again, the pleasured cries she would let out were egging him on as a sheen of sweat broke out over his whole body at the brutal pace he'd set.

Ginny tried to adjust her position, but his hand went to her back and pressed her back down on the pillow beneath her, keeping her angled just how he wanted.

It felt so good to take her like this, just focusing on himself. It wasn't taking long either. His balls were tightening and his teeth were grinding together as he worked at getting his release. His eyes closed as his head fell back, trying to put all his energy into keeping his pace of pounding into her.

He let out a loud groan of satisfaction as his load shot into her.

"There," he managed between his pants. "Mission accomplished."

Ginny didn't say anything.

Harry's breathing returned to normal and he relaxed his grip on her hips, pulling out slowly and starting to feel how much his muscles had protested that level of intensity for their coupling. He didn't let himself fall to the bed beside her, instead he got up and headed straight for the shower. If she was in a mood before then, she certainly would be after that show as well. She'd rolled over before left the room and moved back against the pillows, but they didn't make any eye contact.

Soaping up in the shower he started feeling really bad about it all. His mind had calmed down and begun rationalizing. She had shown him the fan mail after all. And she didn't have to tell him about the hand delivered note that was in her locker. She had informed security right away, and let him be the one to pick her up there.

This wasn't the first time one of her adoring fans had gone too far though.

When she'd been signed by the Holyhead Harpies Harry was thrilled for her. Then there was all this promotional material that came out. Ginny was an attractive girl, and now a beautiful woman who had a phenomenal Quidditch career, it made sense that she was desired by more than just her husband.

But Harry didn't like it.

He'd never liked when he found out that someone had a pin-up poster of his wife. And he especially didn't like finding out that some of those people where more than simply fans. Multiply that by tenfold when they addressed things to her as Ginny Weasley and not Ginny Potter.

Harry hadn't had much that belonged to him growing up, but Ginny did. Not in a misogynistic way, but she was his and he was hers.

Hopefully her male fan base would die off once he knocked her up.

He really wanted to start a family with her, and he wanted more than one. More than two. Ideally there would be three or four. Harry understood why his in-laws just kept on having kids. Siblings were important, they learned from each other, relied on each other. Harry would have loved to have something like that growing up and thought that he might have if his parents survived.

When he saw Ginny playing with Teddy or one of her nieces and nephews his chest swelled with pride and longing.

Merlin, he loved that woman.

And he was being an ass.

Shutting off the tap, he toweled off, readying himself to apologize and grovel a bit.

Walking back into the bedroom he stopped dead three feet into the room, staring open mouthed at the sight there.

It was his own fault that she was doing this. His fault she was on her back against the pillows, legs spread and using a vibrating toy on herself.

His penis was twitching back to life at the sight of it. She had a slow and steady rhythm that she was working herself over with. Her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open her breasts rising and falling with every circling of her hips.

Harry dropped his towel and went to her slowly. He wanted to be the one to give her pleasure, not force her to take care of her own needs.

Ginny started as the mattress shifted when he climbed onto it. Sitting down between her legs he locked eyes with her, she didn't look the least bit embarrassed about him catching her pleasuring herself. Instead she looked smug.

He didn't raise to the bait on that look, he wanted to apologize, not keep fighting.

Resting his hand over hers he gripped the base of the toy she was using and leaned down to kiss the soft skin of her belly, keeping up the pace that she'd set while her hands moved away, his mouth leaving a trail of kisses down to her clit.

She rocked more firmly against his mouth when he circled his tongue over that sweet spot.

It wasn't long that he was lapping at her before she shuddered under his tongue and came loudly.

Harry kissed his way back up her body, his hand still pumping her toy in and out of her while she came down from her orgasm. He was rock hard now and once he came level with her breast, he pulled her toy out, tossing it to the other side of the bed and replacing it with himself.

He smiled as he felt her clench around him at the invasion.

Aligning his torso properly with hers he started giving her the same slow movements that the toy had been. She was plenty wet now and looking up at him, that stubborn glint in her eye not quite at full blast.

"I love you," Harry told her sincerely.

"I'm still, ah, mad at you," she gasped when he ground into her. "But I love you too."

Harry kissed her then, trying to portray how sorry he was about overreacting. Ginny was kissing him back. They'd talk the argument through later, but for now this was all the apology either of them needed.

**()()()**

**AN- I've already had a few guest readers commenting that this constitutes rape.**

**...**

**No.**

**Leaving your wife unsatisfied is not rape.**

**And if you are saying that it is rape because he was angry or focused on only himself for the first round, then please keep in mind that she BIT HIM when he was trying to make it pleasurable for her.**

**The whole prompt behind this story was to write angry smut. The only way I could figure out how to get Angry Smut was to have them in a fight but trying to conceive on a schedule.**

**NOT. RAPE.**


	28. Choosing Hufflepuff

**AN- Smut in the Wild on the Bingo Smut card. This one is all coming from Harry's point of view. I made up the name of the company Harry works for, I couldn't find their real name in the Potterverse, just other fanfic stories with other names for it.**

**Those that weren't keen on the last chapter, this one will ease you back into things.**

**()()()**

**Choosing Hufflepuff**

**()()()**

Work had never been more of a welcome sight than it was that Monday morning. It was only 8:30 and had already been such a long day.

It was all his fault of course, but he just absolutely couldn't let it go on any longer. She'd been getting clingy and leaving things at his place, dropping hints about how they should live together, mentioning how her friends were all starting to get engaged. The whole nine.

And he wasn't a complete idiot when it came to women.

A partial idiot, sure. She'd had to come onto him quite hard for him to realize she was interested in him before he'd finally asked her out.

And it had been nice at first to have someone again, he hadn't had many someone's over his lifetime. Less than a handful.

Okay. She'd been the third, and the first two hadn't lasted any longer than she did, which was three months.

This had been a full on three months though. She'd spent nearly every weekend at his, or he at hers. Even the evenings through the week had almost always included plans with her, and he was someone who enjoyed having time to himself. He'd been just himself for as long as he could remember, even when he was surrounded by people. Having a girlfriend in his personal space though was different, not a bad different, but he'd kept waiting with each of them for it to feel more natural. It just hadn't.

He was always hoping that each girlfriend and he would find this natural rhythm between them. Harry wished he had a healthy relationship in real life that he could base his idea of a 'rhythm' on, but he didn't. Even television and movies that he'd seen had ridiculous amounts of drama.

Harry had been shackled with his aunt and uncle for the formative years of his life before Hogwarts and then during summer breaks. He'd been their cook, housekeeper and gardener since he could remember and was always under their strict and disapproving eye.

Hmm, maybe 'raised by' wasn't the right term.

His aunt and uncle weren't exactly shining examples of a healthy relationship either, they just showed him what he didn't want; and image obsessed woman who put on a farce and a bulbous bastard of a man who expected to be catered to.

As soon as he was seventeen, Harry left. July 31st, 1997 he was out of their house and spent his last month before school living at the Leaky Cauldron Pub in London; The rooms weren't the best, but they were better than where he'd been. And he could afford it.

What he hadn't realized until he turned of age in the Wizarding world was that he had a massive inheritance that he came into on his seventeenth birthday. He had already moved into the Leaky by the time he found out though. He would have found a job to cover the rate of the room at the pub if he couldn't have afforded it otherwise, but there was just no way he wanted to be indebted to the Dursley's for another minute.

That had been his only 'birthday card' on his coming of age birthday; the letter from Gringotts informing him of his family vault access and the expectation that he come into the bank to go over his investments. It had been an amazing and eye opening experience to see all that had been left to him, and he essentially just left all that he now held in his possession right where it was until he had the mental space to deal with it.

His school friends were, well, they were his friends, at school. Ish. They had all really just acquaintances that he shared a dorm room with. He didn't talk to any of them now that they'd been out of school for over three years.

Now that he was out of school, out of the Dursley's, out of the Leaky Cauldron, he had his own flat and was still enjoying being on his own schedule.

Michelle, the now ex-girlfriend, had just wanted too much of his time and attention and to change too much about him so he would become the man she really wanted. As nice as it was to have a steady girlfriend for all of the lovely couple activities, such as snogs and shags, he wasn't looking for that relationship to progress. And when the time came that he was looking for that kind of progression, he really didn't think she'd be the one he would want to do the progressing with.

Michelle was pretty, relatively smart and quite nice. But she never shut up and was way too into her looks and what other people might potentially be thinking of her. It took her forever to get ready to go anywhere and she had all these expectations placed on him. So, this morning he'd decided. Her time was up, and he wasn't going to entertain her expectations anymore.

He popped over to her place with breakfast in hand and just told it to her point blank. They were done. They wanted different things, and while he'd always think fondly of her, he just saw them going in different directions. She was too good for him.

Yeah, he used all the clichés he could think of.

She'd reacted... well… she'd reacted. Her face went all stony when she realized what he was saying. To be fair he'd stumbled over his words quite a bit. Then she lost it on him, screaming and crying about all the time she'd wasted on him, how he wouldn't find anyone else nearly on her level.

Urgh, it was such a headache.

But now it was over, and he was headed for his lab. His safe, sterilized and organized workspace.

Despite the horrible professor he'd had through his Hogwarts career he'd actually excelled in Potions. He liked combining all the different, and sometimes volatile, ingredients and discovering new potions and their uses.

He worked for a Lumiere Laboratories, they were the ones that continued to produce his family's product, Sleakeasy Hair Serum, though he was sure the higher ups hadn't associated his name to the product. It was a relief to know that actually, it meant he was hired on his own merit, not because of nepotism.

With a sigh of relief upon reaching his station, Harry placed his lunch in his bottom drawer and looked at the tray on the corner of his table where his task for the day would appear every morning.

His mood dampened when he saw what his assignment was.

Training.

They had a new recruit and this kid had to be shown around the factory, then he'd have to shadow him through the process of the potion the kid would be making en mass that week so he would understand all the steps and documentation involved and expected of him. The name of the new recruit was on the paper and it seemed vaguely familiar. All the names were vaguely familiar in this world though, no doubt they were both at school together, though probably not in the same house.

And here he'd been hoping to just perform repetitious tasks all day and forget that he'd just had an ugly break-up this morning. Now he had to talk all day and answer inane questions.

Fine.

Harry supposed it was kind of nice to know he was a seasoned enough employee that he could be tasked with this. He'd done the 'show around' portion of the job to new recruits, but this was the first time he'd be doing the actual training portion.

With a resolved sigh he headed to the reception area, deciding that the first place he'd show the newbie was the kitchen so they could grab some tea for the tour.

Only one seat in reception was occupied, and it was by an eager looking guy roughly around his own age with a messenger style bag on the floor beside him. Harry recognized him vaguely from school, but couldn't quite pinpoint any interactions they might have had.

"Colin?" he asked. Yep, that was clearly Colin Creevy. Colin gave an excited grin and leapt up, rushing forward with his hand out.

"Colin Creevey," he greeted.

"Harry Potter," Harry shook his hand. "Follow me, I'll show you around." He led the way back to his station, "you can leave your bag here for the tour."

"Thanks," Colin tucked it under his bag under the desk. "Are you allowed to decorate your workspace?" he asked, noting the lack of personal touches to the walls around Harry's space.

"Uh, you can. They don't have a rule about it or anything. I just... haven't." That was something Melissa had brought up about his flat too. The lack of personal touches. She wanted to put up a bunch of tacky artworks with flowers and such, or a giant portrait of the two of them, he wasn't quite sure which. but either way, he had no interest in entertaining that.

"Okay, good," Colin followed in behind Harry as he led them to the kitchen first. "I dabble in photography and like having the inspirational photo's around."

"That's where I know you from!" Harry snapped his fingers at the connection made. "You were the Gryffindor kid, always with the camera." Colin blushed slightly. "Sorry. Not kid. Just. You were always taking photos," he backpedaled.

"Muggleborn," Colin offered as though that was some sort of excuse. "I found everything fascinating about the Magical world. At first, I was just documenting it all for my parents, then I realized how much I enjoyed it and just kept on. I've a lot of experience brewing development solution," he chuckled.

They reached the kitchen and Harry grabbed two mugs, offering one for Colin. "I can understand that. I was raised in the Muggle world too."

Colin's brow furrowed at the phrasing, "are you not Muggleborn though?"

Harry shook his head. "No, my parents were victims of the last war. I was raised by mother's sister, she's a Muggle."

That was downplaying it.

Harry learned what really happened only after he finished up at Hogwarts and met one of his parents' old friends, Remus Lupin. And that story had been confirmed by Albus Dumbledore.

The truth of the end of the last war was that he, Harry Potter, had been the target of You-Know-Who, and his parents had been killed the night that You-Know-Who also died. His Godfather had been there that night too, at his parents' house. Between the three of them they managed to stop You-Know-Who from getting Harry's infant self but lost their lives in the process.

Dumbledore had been the one to find Harry alone and surrounded by the bodies of his loved ones and the self-titled Dark Lord.

It had been incredibly hard to hear the truth of how he was orphaned. Even all these years later it was a knife to the heart. And he was still dealing with that on some level, but most of the time he tried not to think about it too much.

"Ah," Colin nodded uncomfortably, probably because he knew of the previous war and it's numerous victims and knew better than to ask more. "So, have you been here long?"

By the time mid-afternoon came around Harry had shown him around the building, introduced him to the pertinent people and given the low down on who he needed to be extra nice to in order to get certain tasks completed. They'd conversed easily throughout the brewing process, flipping back and forth between Muggle and Magical topics.

Colin had taken a year off after school and done some travelling via portkey, worked here and there, then went to an Academy in the states for eight months to polish up his potioneering skills before coming back to England and going through the process of landing a proper job.

"Then it was kind of perfect timing when I caught up with a friend from school that had a flat mate moving out so I could move in," Colin finished up. "Really close by too so I don't have to worry about Floo or Apparating to work."

"That's great," Harry smiled. It had been pretty enjoyable to chat with Colin all day, he felt like they would get along just fine working together. "I'm not too keen on Floo or Apparation myself. Got a place that's just a quick tube ride away."

He'd managed to secure a top floor flat in the Clapham area in London. It was only two tube stops to work and just over an hour to the seaside, so he was quite happy with it. Living any closer inside London would have been a nuisance with the noise and congestion, not to mention the prices.

"You still play Quidditch a bit?" Colin asked him.

Harry shook his head, "it's been years since I've even been on a broom. Not since school really."

"Oh," Colin nodded. "You were a decent Seeker. At least, that's what I've been told," he admitted. "I, uh, never got too into the game. My roommate though is fairly obsessed with it."

"It's a pretty popular sport," Harry chuckled. "And I really enjoyed it, but I was never going to make a career out of it or anything. Kind of wish Cedric Diggory had given it up before his seventh year so I could have gotten on the team earlier. Now though, well I don't really know of anywhere I could go for a casual fly. I live in the city so," he shrugged.

"There are rec leagues," Colin offered up.

"Maybe eventually," Harry dismissed. "Okay. So, now that you're done, we're going to take a sample over to be tested and then the rest of the day will be filling out the documentation properly." He'd instructed Colin on what notes to take during the process with his own devised short hand so that it was easier to fill out all the paperwork that comes with brewing for the masses and then he didn't need to pause in his process as he went along.

"Great! So, hey. I'm grabbing a drink at The Star and Sailor after to celebrate my first day at a real job. Any interest?" Colin invited casually.

"Err." Harry hesitated. Not because he didn't like Colin, but because this was not a common situation he found himself in. Most of his coworkers didn't socialize much outside of work. They had families and other lives already going on outside Lumiere, the company didn't even have a Christmas party. But he'd had a serious morning followed by a fairly enjoyable day, so why not. "Sure. That sounds good. Uh. Do they have decent food?"

"Decent enough to soak up the booze," Colin replied with a shrug.

()()

End of day came fast enough, and Harry found himself in a dimly lit pub with two levels, the top was an open balcony style looking down over the bar area. It was loud, but it was conversation loud, not music loud which was nice.

"Oh. There they are," Colin pointed up to the second level at the far table.

Harry squinted to try and figure out who it was Colin was pointing at. There were two guys there looking down and waving, but he couldn't make out the details of them in this light. He followed Colin up the spiral staircase leading to his friends and tried to think if he'd even asked for Colin's friends' names.

He hadn't.

All through school Harry had basically kept to himself. He knew the names of a lot of the people in his year but hadn't been very social. It would have been nice to have a tight group of friends to go out to the pub with after work every once and a while, but he didn't know how to go about setting that up. Having so many years preceding Hogwarts where Dudley had made sure Harry didn't socialize, it hadn't allowed him to develop those skills everyone else seemed to pick up in kindergarten.

As they drew closer to the table, he worried that Colin might have been friends with someone that knew him and held certain opinions about him being a loner. That wouldn't be completely inaccurate.

"Harry, this is Denis, my brother, he's fresh out of school," Colin introduced. "And this is Neville, you two might know each other."

"Oh!" Harry did in fact know Neville, they'd been paired in Herbology a few times. Neville had been shy but nice. "I remember you. You really knew your plants," Harry grinned at Neville in relief.

"Right! Harry Potter. Yeah, I remember you too," Neville smiled and shook his hand.

"Harry's been training me all day, thought I'd buy him a pint to say 'thanks'," Colin told them. "Anyone order food yet?"

"Got two platters of appy's on the way," Denis told him before turning to Harry to shake his hand as well. "You were a Hufflepuff, right?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "That's okay at a table full of Gryffindor's, right?" he teased lightly.

They chuckled and nodded.

"We'll allow it," Neville told him. "You were always decent. Not like that bloke Ernie in your house," he hesitated a second. "Uh. He's not a mate of yours, is he?"

"Definitely not. Guy was a twat. Glad you don't like him really," Harry laughed.

"Got your food here," The waitress appeared with two laden down platters of delicious deep-fried items. "Drink's for the new additions?" she looked to Colin and Harry.

"I'll get a Guinness," Colin told her. "Harry?"

"Somersby Cider, please," Harry told her.

"Make that two," came a voice from over the waitress's shoulder.

The three at the table with Harry greeted the new addition with a chorus of 'hello's' while Harry felt his stomach drop and he couldn't stop himself from staring at her like an idiot.

This was her.

She.

She.

She was the one that he'd grown just a little too obsessed with in school.

He tried everything to wean himself off of searching for her head of beautiful red hair at meals. He'd only gotten his first girlfriend because he was trying to get over how attracted he was to this girl, now woman, in front of him. They'd barely even interacted at school, but the first time he'd ever properly looked at her he'd felt completely done for. Her smile, her sense of humor, the cadence of her voice. It was no wonder she had so many friends and boyfriends in school. This girl was irresistible.

And just when he'd thought he properly managed to kick his addiction to her, when he'd finally started calling up images about other woman who bore no resemblance to her in his wanking fantasies, that was when she joined the Holyhead Harpies as a reserve Chaser and suddenly he was seeing her picture _everywhere_.

He'd even caved and gotten one of those promotional photos himself. It was tucked in his bookshelf at home.

Here she was now. Real life. They were going to be sitting at the same table. They were both going to be drinking a Somersby Cider. And her seat was right beside his.

"Hello all!" she greeted. "Oh!" she turned her radiant smile on him, and him alone. "Harry Potter! Hello."

That smile she was giving him had been the catalyst for his infatuation with her in the first place. Now he was one thousand percent sure he'd never get her out of his head.

()()()

It was his sixth year at Hogwarts, and it had been so much easier than the previous for Harry, having got through his OWL's with respectable marks. He was in his second year on the Quidditch Team as a Seeker and doing pretty damn well if he said so himself. Being on the team had helped boost his confidence a bit. His house mates treated him with a little less indifference, and his dorm mates asked for his opinion on things he didn't actually have opinions about.

It hadn't changed his social life much, being on the Quidditch Team. Life was carrying on as usual, and he was late on his way down to the pitch to watch the Ravenclaw-Slytherin game. It seemed the whole school was already down there, save for the two girls walking a few yards in front of him, and even they looked to be bundled up and heading down to the pitch themselves.

He glanced out the window to check if he could already see any players moving about the pitch. When he looked back in front of him the sight he saw stopped him in his tracks.

The two girls were kissing each other. Full on the lips.

Well, more the blonde girl seemed to be giving the ginger girl a full-on kiss. The ginger girl eye were wide with surprise and she was standing stalk still, arms out in a gesture like she wasn't sure what was going on, but was at the ready to push the blonde girl away once she gained control of her motor functions.

The blonde girl pulled back finally.

"Your lips are very nice and soft, but I think I still prefer boys," Blonde girl said breezily before letting go of the ginger girl's coat and continuing on her way down the staircase toward the doors leading out to the grounds.

The ginger girl, who Harry now recognized as the Seeker turned Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, was still frozen there in the position she'd been in when blondie was kissing her, seemingly still in shock.

Harry still couldn't move. He'd seen couples kissing before, but never same sex. And certainly never two girls kissing, particularly two attractive girls, such as what he now realized the ginger girl was.

Weasley. She was a Weasley. Ron Weasley's sister.

Seeing a pretty girl like her getting kissed by another girl had seemed to shut off all his brain function.

Slowly a disbelieving smile came to her face. Then she started chuckling. Her smile grew brighter and she laughed, wiping away a few tears of mirth before she spotted him there. "Oh!" she looked torn between embarrassment and humor. "Uh."

He couldn't look away from her or even pretend that he hadn't just seen what he'd just seen. She was absolutely radiant when she smiled. How had he not noticed that before? "Uh. I. Um," he stumbled and tried to remember how to speak English.

"You wouldn't. I mean. She just misunderstood," she managed. "Uh. Took me a little too literal."

"You. You asked her to kiss you?" he asked in confusion before the option of not asking that even occurred to him.

Her smile returned at full blast again and she shook her head with a chuckle. "It was an offhanded comment about switching sides. Luna just. She's. She's a creature of her own," she offered with a shake of her head, as though that was enough information to give on the blond girl that 'still prefers boys'.

Harry couldn't find himself caring about the reasons behind Luna having kissed her. From the way his whole body was growing pleasantly warm just from the sight of her beautiful smile, all he could think was how he'd love to be finding out just how soft her lips were.

"You won't spread that around, will you?" her smile dropped allowing a concerned line to appear in the middle of her forehead.

How had he played Quidditch against her last year and not realized how pretty she was? He had noticed it with Cho Chang. Though, Cho Chang was paraded around the Hufflepuff common room on more than one occasion on the arm of Diggory.

This Weasley girl had been the Seeker last year too, like Chang. He recalled her being a more challenging opponent than either of the other team's Seekers, and that wasn't even her preferred position, she'd just been waiting for a Chaser spot to open up.

It took a second for her words to register with him; She was worried he'd start up some juicy Hogwarts gossip about her and the blonde girl, Luna.

"No," he said finally. "No. Promise. It was just a misunderstanding," he nodded and swallowed hard.

Her radiant smile returned. "Thanks Harry," she said, his name sounding lovely coming from her lips, before she turned and rushed off, trying to catch up to her entirely lucky and oblivious friend.

From then on, he'd noticed her every time they were in the same room together. Every time they passed each other in the corridors too.

She had a load of friends from what he could tell. He'd seen her in Hogsmeade having one on one's with a few different boys, whether she was just friends with them, or if they were something more, he wasn't sure. But she was clearly popular, and from the happy glow that she seemed to always have it wasn't hard to figure out why so many people gravitated towards her.

He wanted to gravitate towards her.

He'd watched a few of the Gryffindor Quidditch practices too, just so he could see her in action. Because she was a stellar Chaser.

By the end of his sixth year he realized he was rather unhealthily obsessed with Ginny Weasley, and he couldn't shake off the obsession in his seventh year either.

He just couldn't manage to get the confidence required to seek her out for an actual interaction.

()()

Now she was here, right in front of him.

And she remembered his name.

"Hello," he croaked, then cleared his throat. "Hi," he managed in a normal voice.

"How did you fall in with this crowd?" she asked in humor, her beautiful brown eyes looking directly at him.

"He was the poor sod in charge of training me all day," Colin explained and started digging into the chips on the platter in front of them that had seemed so appealing to Harry just a moment ago.

Harry wasn't sure he had the room around the weight that had settled in his stomach to eat anything now.

"That's great!" she zipped off her fall coat and hung it on the back of her chair. Revealing a sleeveless tee with the Harpies logo underneath.

Harry's lower half clenched at the sliver of her bra visible below the arm hole. It was a baby blue color. She pulled the tie out of her hair and it cascaded down her back and shoulders in nice soft waves before sitting down between he and Denis and helping herself to a chicken finger. She may as well have been moving in slow motion like the women did in the movies.

"Anyone else joining?" Ginny asked Colin and Neville.

"Think this is it," Neville answered.

Harry forced his eyes away from his perfect woman and turned to Neville. He knew something about him, he should use his voice to create a flow of conversation and not look like a silent idiot beside her. "What have you been up to these past three years?"

"Master Herbologist," Neville beamed.

"He's just finished his requirements," Denis said proudly and reached across the table to touch Neville's hand. They shared a private look.

"Not misunderstanding that one," Ginny leaned close to Harry to tell him quietly.

He barely suppressed the shiver that went through him as her forearm to shoulder touched his when she leaned over.

She remembered! She didn't just remember his name, she remembered that whole incident.

His head snapped over to look directly at her in delighted surprise. Her brown eyes were twinkling mischievously even in this low lighting. "That did look a little more consensual," he commented.

Her tongue peaked out a bit when she smiled. "Never forget your first girl on girl?" she lifted one eyebrow at him suggestively.

"What was that?" Colin burst into their conversation with a bark of laughter.

Ginny sat back properly in her seat and Harry tried not to pout at the loss of her skin against his. "Harry here was witness to, uh, Luna and I... sharing a moment."

A chorus of 'What!" resounded from the other three while Ginny threw her head back for a laugh.

The waitress came back and set down the other three drinks. Ginny picked hers up and took a swig before explaining. "I'd just had it out with Dean and mentioned something about being done with men, switching sides. Then I told her she was pretty alright, so how 'bout it?" Ginny laughed and shook her head. "Then she just turned and planted one on me." She wiped away another tear of mirth at the story.

The three turned their attention to Harry while Ginny tried to collect herself. "Apparently she had very soft lips, but Luna preferred men," Harry shrugged.

"Yes! That's exactly what she said!" Ginny exclaimed in surprise.

Shit, he thought. Maybe he shouldn't have just admitted he remembered it that well. Act as though he hadn't relived that over and over again ending with him making sure Ginny still preferred men too, him in particular. "You said it," he stated cavalierly. "Never forget your first girl on girl."

Now the whole table was chuckling.

Nailed it.

As it turned out, Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevy were roommates. They'd been friends in school and caught up when he moved back to England. Her flat mate, Hermione Granger, had been moving out and in with Ron Weasley, Ginny's closest brother in age, freeing up a room for her one hundred percent platonic male friend.

Denis, Colin's younger brother and boyfriend of Neville Longbottom was working events for a swanky magical hotel until he figured out what he wanted to do next as he was just out of school. And Neville was working as an Herbologist and an Apothecary supply chain.

It sounded like the four of them all caught up together about once a week or so, time permitting. Ginny's schedule and Denis' made those meet ups change around quite a bit with her game schedule and Denis' sporadic event schedule.

The conversation never lagged, and Harry was pretty proud of how he managed to contribute so much and not overdo it with too exuberant a reaction when he was trying to cover up just how nervous he was.

After his third drink it was getting fairly late, and he didn't want to, but it was time to head home and away from Ginny.

He had the potential to see her again now though. She was Colin's flat mate, and if he and Colin were going to continue getting along like they had today, then maybe he'd get invited out to another one of these meet ups.

"Hate to be the first one," Harry started, putting his empty bottle down in a definitive manner.

"Right," Colin checked his watch. "Wow, that time already," he jutted his chin slightly to Ginny. "We should get going too. You've got an early practice tomorrow."

"Yeah," she pouted slightly.

Harry noted that she'd only had the one cider then switched to water. She was responsible. The Harpies were known for their partying ways, but she didn't come off as one of those girls. She'd been so easy to converse with and quick with the wise cracks.

Beautiful and intelligent.

If only he had found out what her love life situation was. Neville and Denis were a couple. Colin had mentioned that he had a casual romance going on with some shop girl from Diagon Alley. But Ginny hadn't mentioned anything about herself. Neither had Harry though, and he could have offered up the fact that he'd been in a relationship until that very morning. But he didn't.

"You mentioned you live close by?" Harry asked as they pulled on their sweaters.

"Yeah. Just two tube stops south of here on Northern," Ginny answered for Colin.

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "I'm the same," Colin had mentioned living close, but they hadn't gotten any more specific than that. It was amazing to him that both he and she had a flat in the Clapham area and hadn't run into each other until now.

Actually, it was amazing that she could afford something in Zone 2. From what he recalled she didn't come from the wealthiest of backgrounds, and a reserve position, even for a Nationally ranked team like the Harpies, could only pay so much.

As the three of them headed towards the Elephant and Castle station he couldn't help but marvel over how well Ginny blended into the Muggle world. She came from a well-known pureblood family, normally pureblood witches and wizards stuck out like a sore thumb, but she pulled out her oyster card and swiped through the barrier with the ease of a seasoned commuter.

"Did you manage to find a tie that'll match my dress? Or do you want me to pick one up for you?" Ginny asked Colin as though suddenly remembering she'd had to ask him that.

Colin groaned, "I didn't. And could you?"

"Yeah fine. You're doing me a favor," she answered easily.

"What's this?" Harry asked, desperate to keep a dialogue open between he and she until they had to properly part ways.

"I have a wedding to go to, Colin said he'd be my plus one," she gave her friend a playful pinch to his arm.

"Yeah. Really roped me into that one," Colin rolled his eyes indicating that it hadn't been hard to convince him. "It's for one of her brothers. Oh, actually, you'd remember Ron."

"He'd probably remember Fred and George too. They made an impression," she grinned.

She was taking a friend to her brother's wedding. That was a good sign that she might be currently unattached.

"I definitely remember Fred and George," Harry grinned. "Remember Ron too. He's marrying Hermione Granger?" he had seen that coming. The two of them squabbled through five years of Gryffindor/Hufflepuff shared classes before they finally gave into their carnal needs, to the relief of the entire school.

Now they were getting married, and they were only twenty. That seemed rather young.

"Yep. I'm the Maid of Honor," Ginny gave a playfully curtsy. "_So_ happy that it is almost over. It's been an ordeal," she widened her eyes, clearly thinking back over Hermione Granger's renowned organizational OCD.

Harry chuckled, "I'm sure you'll enjoy the night of, even if the buildup was a bit of a nightmare." He had no way of knowing though. He'd never been to a wedding. From what he did know of them though it was a night of drinking and dancing with a few toasts in between.

"Yeah, probably," she shrugged

"Definitely," Colin corrected. "The Weasley's know how to have a good time," he said, sounding like he'd been to a few of their shindigs.

"That we do," she stated proudly. "It should be a fun night," she admitted. "It's just been an ordeal getting there. I've been bombarded with cutlery options and color swatches for too long. Bill's wedding was just as bad, but I was only a simple bridesmaid for that one and at school for most of the decision-making time."

Harry tried to think of if he knew who Bill might be. Probably another one of her brothers. He knew she had six of them, as she was the youngest of seven and the only girl.

The piped in voice over announced his stop, and what should be their stop as well.

"Crazy that we have the same tube stop," Colin said to him.

"It is, and you've lived there for a while now?" Harry asked to Ginny, knowing for Colin it had only been a few weeks.

"Two years," she nodded. "Moved in with Hermione once I got hired on with the Harpies. Her parents bought the place as a rental property ages ago apparently. They rented it out to her at a steal, now the savings are passed on to me," she said proudly. "And Colin," she nudged Colin's shoulder.

"Yeah. It's a phenomenal deal for the area," Colin added.

Harry must have had a look of understanding pass over his face that Ginny caught. She gave him a sideways smirk as they ascended the stairs to the street. "Wondering how a Weasley could manage to live in this area?"

She didn't sound offended by her accurate derision of his expression, but he was sure he blushed anyway for being called out.

"Don't worry about it," she shrugged it off. "I know I've been incredibly lucky, even if I can't get it hooked up to Floo network." They stepped out onto the street and Colin automatically headed off in the direction of their flat, which was the direction of Harry's as well. "I tried to see if we could hook it up so I could get back to my parents easier, but no. It's a Muggle building. There is a private spot close by that I can Apparate from. That's good enough," Ginny shrugged.

"I'm in a Muggle building as well. Never checked to see if I could get Floo to it though. Don't have anywhere I'd need to get to that fast. I kind of like commuting and seeing the world at large on the way into work," he admitted.

She smiled at his answer. "You lived in the area long then?"

He nodded, "bought it just out of school."

"Bought?!" she asked in surprise. "Hello Mister Moneybags."

Harry bit back a grimace at that. His affluence was something he still hadn't quite adjusted to. He'd come into the money and purchased the flat once he'd finished his last year of Hogwarts, then he hadn't pulled from the enormous vault under Diagon Alley again. He'd been living off of his wages for all his expenses and doing his best never to think about his family money. "Yeah."

"Oh," Ginny sadly caught onto something. "Sorry. I... forgot for a moment."

"Forgot?" he asked in confusion.

"About your... family history," she stated sympathetically.

Harry actually stopped walking alongside her at that and stood rooted on his spot. She knew about his family history? How? Why? And what? The Sleakeazy thing? The downfall of You-Know-Who thing?

She stopped walking too and turned to face him.

Colin must not have overheard their conversation because he continued on his way at a brisk pace.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Harry stared down at her trying not to be distracted by how beautiful her eyes were and the way her freckles dusted the crest of her nose, spilling over onto the apple of her cheeks giving her this endearing quality to her overall appearance.

"What do you know of my family history?" he managed.

She blinked several times, giving off the impression of having just been caught doing something she shouldn't have. "I. I mean, the Potter used to be one of the 28. They were one of those really well-off influential families on the Wizengamut until the turn of the last century," she said quietly. "Then they lost their seat, but not the gold or anything."

"Oh," he managed. _That_ family history. It must have been standard Pureblood education material if she knew that. He hadn't known until he was seventeen and got the letter from the Goblin's, then he'd found a tome in the vault with the details.

"Hey," she put her hand on his arm and stepped even closer. "Sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to. Sometimes I can't help putting my foot in my mouth." She gave him a wry look, "it's a family trait." Her hand ran comfortingly up and down his arm.

Harry gave a hard swallow. "Uh. Colin is getting well ahead of you."

She looked over her shoulder and turned back to him with a dismissive shoulder shrug, "he's got to get to the loo."

At that, he let out a laugh that broke the tension he'd built up. "Right," he nodded and readied himself for something he thought might be a rather bold move; he offered her his arm so they could continue on their way.

She accepted his offer and they followed the path Colin had blazed linked at the elbows. Colin had got so far ahead of them now the Harry could only see him when he passed under a streetlight.

The two of them walked in comfortable silence with her tucked close beside him.

Harry couldn't believe how this day had completely turned around. He'd started it off with a break up and was he ever glad he'd resolved to do that this morning rather than after work, now he was walking the literal girl of his dreams home after a night out at the pub. Things like this didn't happen to him, or anyone.

Harry couldn't help fantasizing that this was the end of a date, one where he'd been debonair and charming and she'd been completely captivated by his witty conversation and responded with just the right amount of flirtation and suggestion. And when they got to her front door, she was going to be expecting an 'end of date' kiss. He would give it to her too. The kind of kiss that had her holding on to him in order to stop herself from falling to the ground because her knees had grown so weak. And then she'd be begging for more.

But this wasn't a date, and he didn't know how to kiss like that.

From the reactions of his only three former partners his kisses were the same as any other blokes. That magical movie moment of the perfect kiss was fabricated by Hollywood and fairy tale writers.

Call it cynicism, but he believed it was the non-coupling activities that made or broke a relationship. He hadn't been able to stand certain aspects of his previous girlfriends, their perfume, the way he wasn't able to simply sit at the end of his work day but was expected to do things, certain catty behavior they displayed ; their carnal activities had gone just fine though.

"Do you actually live this way?" Ginny asked suddenly, pulling him from his own thoughts.

"Uh," he suddenly looked up and around for a street sign or business that would indicate where they'd gone while he'd been daydreaming. "No," he realized in embarrassment. "I'm over that way two blocks." He jutted his chin to his right.

Ginny laughed lightly, "well, we're almost at my building anyway."

It sounded like she was going to tell him to just leave her there, but he didn't want to do that. "May as well get you to your door then," he cut her off in offer hoping it didn't come out sounding presumptuous.

She looked quite pleased with the offer, "thanks."

Ginny slowed right down and pulled them to a stop only 100 yards down the way. "This is us," she nodded to the lovely looking building to her left.

"It's a nice-looking place," he offered feeling rather unsure now.

She pulled her arm from his. "If you and Colin wind up getting along you could be commute buddies."

Harry smiled, "that would be alright."

"Well you should pop over for breakfast then some morning. I make a mean bagel and cream cheese," she waggled her eyebrows at him teasingly.

"That would be wonderful," he told her in a daze, nearly leaning down before he remembered himself. This was real life, not the fake situation he'd been playing in his head since they'd linked arms. "Have a good practice tomorrow," he pulled back his arm.

Ginny nodded, "I usually do." Then she went up on her toes and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for walking me home." She pulled back and fished in her pocket for her keys. "And I was serious. You should stop in for breakfast some time. We're flat 3B," she pointed at the intercom system.

"I will," he promised and backed away down the short path back to the sidewalk as she pulled the door open and disappeared inside.

Harry couldn't stop the grin on his face as he turned to head back down the way they'd come, towards his flat. She kissed him. On the cheek, sure, but her soft and warm lips had actually pressed against his skin. Completely against his cheek. For about two counts as well. That wasn't a friendly peck, that was a kiss!

What a great day!

()()()

All week Harry had been trying to find an opening, some way to gently suggest to Colin that Colin should invite him out again, like he had on Monday night, but Harry was crap at it.

Colin turned out to be a great trainee and really just required the business overview of how to get reports handed in. Trainee's were all given a test before getting hired on, but that didn't mean that they were all the most competent. There had been several incidents where cauldrons had exploded and toxic mists had been created, Colin didn't seem to be in danger of being one to create that situation.

It still astounded Harry that decent potioneers came from Hogwarts after seven years with their shoddy professor.

Anyway, Harry had been trying to find some casual opening to get himself invited over to Colin's flat so he could see Ginny again, and though everything about Monday night stuck out in his brain like a beacon of flashing lights, he was pretending around Colin that it hadn't been one of the single most amazing nights of his life thus far.

Because that sounded pathetic.

"What are you getting up to this weekend?" Harry asked on Friday afternoon as they were cleaning up the station before doing reports.

"I've got that wedding to go to," Colin told him, not sounding as happy about it as he had.

"Right, yeah, I remember now. You don't seem so keen on it anymore."

"Well. Remember how I said I was casually seeing someone? Turns out she isn't thrilled that I live with a Harpy, and even less that I'm that Harpy's plus one to events like this," Colin frowned.

Harry stopped what he was doing and raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him. "She's never been in the same room with you and Ginny, has she?"

"Nope," Colin shook his head once. "We weren't taking things too seriously because that's how Marissa wanted to play things. That's her name, by the way. Then I figured if I made her a bit jealous, then she might want something more. Well, it kind of backfired."

Harry couldn't help the slight jiggle of laughter in his shoulders. Colin saw, but from his expression he was in good humor about it.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Play with fire and whatnot," he waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway. I'm going over to Marissa's tonight and hopefully she'll be cool about it by tomorrow."

"Not controlling is she?" Harry asked.

"No," Colin didn't sound quite convinced. "I'm pretty sure she's just being careful. The last guy she saw was apparently a piece of work." He drew in a deep breath, like he was cleansing himself of the conversation. "What do you normally get up to on the weekends?"

"Uh, well. My last few of them have been occupied with a girlfriend. But that's done now," he shrugged. "Pretty wide-open weekend ahead of me. No plans."

"You should come over for breakfast tomorrow then!" Colin said brightly. "Help me calm Ginny down a bit when she goes squirrelly."

Inside Harry's heart gave a leap and fist pumped an artery in the air, outside he was trying to keep a pleasantly interested face. "I wouldn't mind that," he nodded happily. "Ginny said something about making a mean bagel and cream cheese."

The next morning, he woke early from his excitement.

Harry knew that there were several more like him out there, slightly obsessed with Ginny Weasley. She was beautiful, enigmatic, a star Chaser, the list went on and on. Five years now he had this crush on her. And it was a crush. There was no other way to describe it. Crushes were when one was in awe of another, holding romantic feelings and slightly embarrassed about anyone finding out, even the object of said desire. He wouldn't have hidden the posters of her if it wasn't a crush, he would have displayed them on the wall, as they were meant to be displayed.

Now it was bright and early on a Saturday morning and it was far too early to head over to Colin and Ginny's place. So, he puttered around his own flat, his nervous energy making him start in on a thorough clean of the place until it turned from five a.m. to just after eight. He didn't want to seem too eager.

The walk from his to Ginny's, er, Colin and Ginny's, happened in the blink of an eye. Not literally, he was just so in his own head about how that morning would go that he didn't notice anything about what he was passing until he was standing in front of their building door and staring at the intercom that read 3B-Granger.

That label swam a bit in front of his eyes.

Perhaps he should have eaten something while he'd been tidying his flat for the past three hours.

Steeling his nerves, he pressed the buzzer.

One second passed, then two, then ten. It was torture.

There was a chance that they were still asleep. Perhaps he'd made the journey for nothing. Maybe they'd actually gone out for breakfast. Or Colin was shacked up at Marissa's place and Ginny had gone home with a tall, dark and handsome stranger that was her new date to her brother's wedding.

A loud buzzing noise gave Harry a start as he heard the door being released and allowing him entrance.

Cautiously he pushed the building door inward and climbed the steps to the third floor. There hadn't been anyone's voice asking who it was wanting entrance to the building, but maybe Colin had just pried himself out of bed and remembered the invite he'd given, not bothering with something as futile as a conversation for a precursor to the one they'd hold inside the flat.

Door 3B was slightly open when he got to it. Knocking gently he slowly poked his head in and looked around the entryway.

"Hello?"

Shouldn't one of them be there to greet him? Isn't that normal convention for a first-time pop over such as this was?

"Come on in, Harry," Ginny called out from the other room. "I need your help."

Harry's eyebrows went up at that. He couldn't see her yet, but she sounded harried.

He kicked off his shoe's and went the direction her voice had come from, finding her at a table just off their kitchen and a disarray of potions ingredients surrounding a cauldron.

Ginny had her hair hastily tied up on top of her head and a loose-fitting t-shirt on top of checked, fitted pajama bottoms. She was a lovely sight, but not one that told him she knew he'd be coming over.

"Thank Merlin you're here!" she exclaimed. "I'm crap at potions and that bitch of a pseudo girlfriend did something to Colin. Apparently, she didn't want him to be able to go to the wedding with me today. Can you believe it?!"

Yes.

From what Colin had shared with him yesterday, he could believe it.

"What did she do to him?" he asked, coming forward to check which potion she was trying to pull together. It was the fifth-year potions book and it was turned to the page for the antidote for confusing concoction, one that Ginny was not doing a good job of preparing.

"Uh, yes. Maybe I should take over," he said gently.

Ginny turned to him with a sigh, her hand still on the ladle that was in the cauldron full of the wrong colored liquid that was bubbling instead of simmering. "You need to start over, don't you," she sighed. It was a statement, not a question. "It's alright. I was crap at potions. How there are any potioneers that came out from under Snape's tutelage I'll never understand."

"Don't worry, I was basically self-taught," he assured her and took the cauldron off the flame to clean it out. "Where is Colin?"

"I trapped him in the bath," Ginny told him.

Harry paused. "You what?"

If she was trying to hide her humor about the situation, she was failing horribly. "He tried to climb over the balcony, then took a fork near the electrical socket, followed by a few other messy or potentially life-threatening acts. So, I trapped him in the bath. He can't get past the shower curtain."

"But he could drown himself," Harry mentioned cautiously.

"He'd have to figure out how the taps work in order for that, and I'd hear the water running," she shrugged.

"That's a fair point," Harry admitted.

"Come's from having six older brothers. I've seen it all," she preened.

It was cute how proud she looked of her problem solving.

"Right then. You do this, I will assemble some breakfast for the two of us. Well, three of us, but we'll see how Colin is once he's sorted out," she moved to the kitchen.

"Er, right," he wasn't sure in what manner he should be breaking this news to her, but there were some side effects of the antidote she might not be too happy to hear. Marissa probably knew exactly what she was doing. "Thing is," he hesitated again.

"Spit it out, Harry," Ginny told him over her shoulder as she opened the fridge.

"Even once Colin gets this, he won't be in any state to go to the wedding with you today. It'll, it'll basically knock him out for ten hours."

They locked eyes and Ginny's shoulders sagged as the new reality of her day sunk in. Her face screwed up in consternation, "damn." She slammed a milk carton down on the counter.

All he could offer her was a placating smile. "He was just a plus one though, right? It wasn't a date." There was no wondering in his mind over that one. She and Colin were strictly friends, no more.

"Yeah," she groaned. "But he was my drink refiller, my dance partner, the person that talked me down from wanting to punch one of my brothers and have my mother yell at me," she frowned.

"Is there no one else you can invite last minute?" what he was really asking is if she had some side piece that she could call on. "Neville maybe?" They were friends and he was clearly gay, but it was safer than asking if there was someone she was shagging that she might call on.

"No, he's going and he's bringing Denis," she frowned.

They were silent then as she assembled some food and Harry started the antidote over again. There were a few amused looks between them as sounds began carrying from the loo. Colin was in there knocking out a pattern on the tiles before he started singing a very off-tune rendition of their school song.

"This is almost done," Harry told her with a chuckle after fifteen minutes.

"As is this," she said over her sink with her dirty dishes while checking the saucepan on the stove top.

He wasn't sure what exactly she'd just made, but it was much fancier than a bagel and cream cheese. It smelled great, that much he knew.

"Can I grab a glass?" he asked as the potion turned the correct color.

"Sure," she came over and inspected the potion curiously. "Thanks for this. It would have taken me ages to get it right."

"And there was no way that Colin would have been able to help." Colin was still singing about Hoggy Warty Hogwarts. "Err, he's dressed, right?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"He was when I pushed him in there. Who knows if he's got a stitch on him now," she laughed lightly. At Harry's expression she rolled her eyes. "He isn't one to strip off when he's drunk or anything. I think you're safe from seeing his bare bum."

"I'm more worried about having to pin him down and feed him this," he held up the cup of purple liquid.

"Oh, yeah. That wouldn't be pleasant," she cringed. Stopping in front of the loo door she pulled her wand out of her back pocket. "Alright, you ready for this?"

He couldn't help but find it somewhat funny. Situations like this were supposed to happen in his teen years, but he'd never had tight enough relationships with who he'd gone to school with, and he certainly wasn't invited to join in with Dudley and his friends with their shenanigans. This was the type of situation he'd seen in movies and wondered if he'd ever be good enough friends with someone for this to happen.

His involuntary chuckle seemed enough for Ginny. She opened the door and went straight to the tub.

"Has he been in there all night?" Harry asked her.

"Since two, yeah," she told him, inspecting through a clear spot in the pattern on the curtain to see if Colin was dressed. He was entirely quiet now and it was fairly daunting considering how loud he had been for the last fifteen minutes.

"Marissa must have dropped him off just after she'd dosed him. I woke up to him crashing around the flat and was too tired to deal with it then, so I just gave him a pillow and made him pass out in here until my brain started functioning properly."

"Love it," Harry grinned.

Ginny looked back at him, her wand at the ready, and gave him a matching grin. "Six brothers, remember? I've got my priorities, and sleep is a big one."

"Again, love it," he assured her.

"Alright, Colin?" she turned back to the curtain. "I'm going to let you out now. Harry's here and he made a potion to set you right."

"Clarice? Is that you?! How are you girl?" Colin exclaimed.

"Best we just get him out and make him drink," Harry told her.

Ginny nodded and waved her wand to remove the freezing charm, pulling the curtain back slowly.

Colin was standing there, fully dressed, and looking expectantly at the pair of them. "Have they got our reservation?" he asked brightly.

"They have!" Ginny exclaimed. "And they gave us an aperitif for our wait. Here, it's delicious." She took the drink from Harry and handed it over to Colin.

"Cheers!" Colin gave a salute with the glass before drinking it down.

It wasn't the struggle Harry had been bracing himself for, but it was still a funny story. The look on Colin's face as the potion settled down in his belly and spread out through his system was certainly funny enough. It was like he was a robot powering down.

The antidote to a Confusion Concoction essentially made one fall into a coma for around twelve hours.

Colin's face fell and he was struggling to keep just one of his eyelids cracked open enough to see the two of them, then his shoulders sagged and he listed forward. Harry lurched forward to catch him under the elbow and brace against his weight.

"Alright then, lets get you to bed," Harry coaxed.

Colin gargled something in response that sounded a little like, 'I'm flattered, but I don't like boys.' Ginny snorted at it anyhow, and took Colin's other elbow.

"He's straight across the hall," she told Harry. "How long will he be out like this?"

"Ten to twelve hours," he told her. "He'll probably be wide awake when you get home from the wedding."

"Good, I'll be able to rail off at him for leaving me hanging then," she said wryly as they dumped him into the bed.

Harry stood back as she tucked Colin in and removed his socks. That was unnecessarily sweet of her.

"Alright then," she said as they got back into the hallway. "Looks like it's just you, me and frittata."

Harry's footsteps faltered slightly as they were headed back towards the kitchen. She'd made him frittata? He hadn't been paying close attention to what she was doing, he was concentrating too hard on getting the potion right. Frittata sounded complicated and special.

"How is it you can make frittata, but not a simple potion?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

He wanted to kick himself for blurting that out. What if she got offended and kicked him out? He was just about to get alone time with her. That's what he had wanted for the past five years!

Ginny simply swung around and stood directly in front of him with her arms crossed defiantly and a smug look on her face, "can you make frittata?"

"Er, no?"

"Do you want to eat some of the frittata I made for you?" she asked with mock sweetness to her voice, cocking her eyebrow.

"Er, yes."

Ginny took one small step towards him. "Then I suggest you shut up about my potion making skills," she almost whispered.

Harry felt his heart faltering slightly. If the woman of his dreams made him frittata, he was going to eat the fucking frittata. And he was going to tell her it was the most amazing thing under the sun even if it tasted like someone else had already eaten it.

All he could manage was a nod though.

Ginny tilted her head and gave him a preening smile before twirling around and going back towards the kitchen. He couldn't help but chuckle at how she was.

Harry started cleaning up the potions area while she went to the kitchen and started plating their breakfast. "Do you drink coffee or tea?" she asked. "I should have offered when you first got here, but I guess you could say I was distracted."

"Understandably so. I'm a tea drinker, thanks." Harry looked around for an obvious home for the supplies he'd packed away in their proper containers and utensils and cauldron.

"The light blue wardrobe," she called out without him having to ask.

Harry saw the wardrobe by the window and pulled open the door. It was a perfect potions storage space, Colin must have used a spell to keep the temperature inside it regulated as well. There were a few photo's stuck on the inside of the door, but they were mostly of redheads. Weasley's. There was one photo of seven of them in a row, all using one hand to tousle the others hair while Ginny, at the end, was just glaring at the rest of them before reluctantly smiling. She looked about fourteen in the photo.

"Was it nice growing up in such a large family?" Harry asked her wistfully.

"You know, it didn't always suck," she said softly from right beside him.

Harry gave a slight start. He hadn't heard her come up beside him with his tea.

"Food's ready," she pointed her thumb back towards the table he'd just cleared.

"This is really nice of you," he commented as he sat down. From the looks and smells of the dish he wouldn't have to lie about how amazing it would taste.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's ingrained in my genetics. My mum would have invited in stray orphans to live with us if they were magical, and that's only because of the Statute of Secrecy," she waved a dismissive hand.

"Geez, wish I'd been sorted into Gryffindor and befriended Ron then," he said after taking a bite. It was delicious. There was kale, or spinach or something with sundried tomatoes, parmesan, noodles and a few other seasonings that made the dish amazing.

"You were raised by Muggle relatives of yours, right?"

"Yeah, they weren't so keen on magic though. I left as soon as I turned seventeen," he said, in a hurry to take another bite.

As he was finishing off the dish he realized that Ginny wasn't as eager to finish her own food. He looked up and saw this look in her eye. One that he didn't want to see. He'd only told part of his story to a few people, and they always got that pitying look in their eyes.

"Don't," he stopped her before she could say anything. "It's done. I'm fine."

"Don't what?" she asked, her shoulders shrugging up in an obvious show of trying to cover up whatever had been running through her mind.

"I'm an orphan, I've had plenty of time to adjust to that fact. You don't need to go all doe eyed on me," he told her straight.

"Hey, I'm just sitting here," she put another forkful of food in her mouth. "So, what are your plans for the day?"

He shrugged, "don't have any. This was all I had on the docket."

"Really?" she dragged out the word slowly and gave him a speculative look. "Do you have a suit?"

()()()

There was no way he could have foreseen that this would be the first opportunity he would have to wear this suit. It had been hanging in his closet since he'd received his first bonus cheque after his first year of working at Lumiere.

He had hoped he would have an occasion to wear it, but it hadn't come until now.

As he stood in the middle row on the far side of the aisle, beside Neville and Denis, Harry watched Ginny walk down the aisle in front of her future sister-in-law and tried not to swallow his tongue at the sight of her.

Bridesmaids dresses were supposed to be garish and unflattering, but not Ginny's. It hugged her and complimented her just right, and the soft green color didn't clash with her hair, which was much shinier now than it had been over breakfast, when she'd asked him to be her date.

After she'd asked him to be the one to accompany her earlier that day he wondered if his nerves would allow him to last long enough to arrive. It was a miracle that he hadn't splinched himself upon arrival at 'The Burrow'. When Neville and Denis had spotted him, they'd immediately pulled him over to their circle of people, and Harry was hanging off them like a lifeline. He was no good with socializing, and these two were great at it. Apparently, Ginny had filled them in briefly on her change of escort and told them they better help him out.

Harry's job was to keep hold of a few pertinent items of Ginny's in his pockets, which Neville supplied to him, keep ensuring her drink was full and be her 'important dance' partner.

He was more than happy to be and do all those things for her. Like a real date would.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her throughout the ceremony. The way she attempted to stealthily wipe away a tear as her friend and brother exchanged vows, the way she whooped and celebrated when the bride and groom were officially announced as mister and missus Weasley. She was just gorgeous. Her whole energy just called out to him.

Harry gave a start when he felt a tap on the bottom of his chin.

"Roll it in Romeo," Denis told him.

"What?!" Harry's eyes went wide. Had he been that obvious?

"Relax, Harry," Neville told him. "She likes you too."

He probably would have yelled the word 'what' had he not had that minuscule hold on his faculties.

Ginny like him _too?!_

As in, Neville and Denis knew that he, Harry, liked Ginny, and that she liked him right back?

"How," was all he could manage to get out.

Denis let out a scoff, "even I remember the way should would watch you when you were the Hufflepuff Seeker."

This was what if felt like when reality was slipping into something else. He'd been crushing on _her_, not the other way around. There was no way.

"Merlin," Neville exasperated. "Remember what she was like near the end of her sixth year?" he nudged his boyfriend. "She was so bummed you were leaving, and she'd never gotten the opportunity to get to know you better. Remember that, Denis?"

Denis shrugged, "I wasn't as close to you guys then, but I remember her being a little wistful during a drinking night in her seventh year and bringing it up."

"She likes me?" Harry said slowly, a smile tugging to his face.

"Whoa, look at that," Neville commented, staring at Harry's face curiously.

"No kidding," Denis regarded Harry the same way.

"I. I. I just. I mean, she was so popular, I never assumed," Harry stuttered.

"Well, ship up. She might rethink it if you're just drooling all the time," Denis gave him a light punch in the shoulder.

Harry couldn't believe it. She liked him!

Thank Merlin she'd made Neville and Denis agree to stick by him, because he didn't know if he'd manage to find his way to the bar otherwise. Ginny was busy doing pictures of the wedding party and family and would probably be tied up for a while, so he only had that long to collect himself.

It didn't seem like the other two minded being his crutch. He hoped they were okay with it anyhow. They looked okay enough and hadn't said anything to warn him against inadvertently hurting Ginny somehow by being a prat. That meant they were alright with the match, right?

There were a few other students from Hogwarts milling about that he knew enough to hold brief conversations with about where he worked and what he'd been up to. It only sort of felt like the same conversation over and over again.

Then he ran into Dean Thomas, Ginny's ex-boyfriend. It made sense that he was there, because he had been Ron's dorm mate for seven years, but Harry wasn't too keen on finding out that Dean had come to the wedding with-out a date, and was even less keen when Dean brought up the fact that he was looking to hook-up, proceeded by casually bringing up Ginny.

Harry had just stopped himself from snarling at Dean when Neville turned Harry back towards the bar then and that was when he spotted someone he hadn't seen in a while.

"Remus?" Harry tapped him on his shoulder.

"Harry!" the older gentleman beamed. "How are you! Great to see you here!"

"Good to see you too," Harry told him sincerely before he was pulled into a hug.

"My goodness, you still look just like James, save for the eyes."

Harry had heard that before, from anyone that had known his parents. But Harry hadn't known them, and it still stung from time to time to remember that fact.

"Who are you here with?" Remus asked. "Or are you friends with Ron and Hermione?"

"Er, no. I knew them in school, but not very well. Hermione was in most of my NEWT level classes," he shrugged. "I'm here as a plus one. Erm," he swallowed, because he still couldn't quite believe it, "Ginny Weasley's."

"Ah, Potter's and their red heads," Remus said knowingly.

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Don't know how much of a Potter I am, I did wind up in Hufflepuff after all."

"What's wrong with being a Hufflepuff?" a woman asked as she came up, slipping her arm through Remus'.

"Harry, this is Nymphadora Tonks, my fiancée," Remus introduced.

"Just Tonks, thanks," she held out her hand for Harry. "You Harry Potter?" she asked. "Remus has been talking about wanting to reach out to you."

Harry turned to Remus then, who was nodding solemnly.

"We chatted a bit when you got out of school, but I can't help feeling like we should get to know each other better. Wondered if you wouldn't mind meeting up for dinner every now and again. I was really close with your dad, he and I were like brothers at one point and I've always regretted not reaching out sooner."

Harry was immediately overcome with a feeling of warmth spreading through him. He would have loved to have some connection to his family when he was younger that didn't include resentful relatives that had tried to "squash the magic out of him". "I'd like that," he told the man honestly.

"Harry," came a sweet voice to his right. Ginny was back from her photo's looking exhausted, but happy. "Hi Tonks!" she stepped towards the woman and gave her a big hug. "So great that you two could make it! Charlie's been looking for a chance to catch up," she pointed over to a tall redhead by the marquis that looked very built.

"Great! Come on Remus, let me introduce you to my first boyfriend," Tonks pulled Remus along as he shook his head and chuckled.

"Do you know Tonks?" Ginny asked him.

"Remus was friends with my dad actually," Harry told her.

"Really?" she beamed and pulled him a little closer by the pockets of his jacket before plunging her hand inside and rooting around.

All he could do was stare at her as she felt around in his pocket. He probably should have been asking what she was doing, or looking for, but he didn't rightly care. She was so close to him.

And she liked him, he thought dreamily.

"Ah! Got it," she pulled her lipstick out of his pocket and applied a light layer to her already perfect lips before popping the cap back on and slipping it back in his pocket.

"Time for a drink then?" he asked. Harry knew he needed to be more vocal and get to actually know her if he wanted to have a proper relationship with her.

Which he did.

He so absolutely did.

"I can probably swing two before we get called into the tent," she took his arm and they went to the bar. "My mum's been asking about you, FYI."

"What, er, what did you tell her?" he asked hesitantly.

"That you work with Colin, we caught up the other night and you agreed to come with me here just this morning."

Harry nodded. That did basically sum it up. "She was alright with that? You bringing someone you don't really know?"

Ginny shook her head lightly with a smile on her face, "she thought it showed a lot of promise that you would just drop everything and come with me today."

Harry couldn't help the snort that came out of his mouth. "That was made all the easier by the numerous number of things that needed dropping. I'm just glad I had the sense to get a properly fitted suit 'just in case' two years ago. Probably should have double checked I removed the tags."

Ginny giggled and put her drink down. "Here, let me check."

Then her arms were around his neck and she was pressed against his chest. His hands immediately settled on her waist. Then in slow motion she went up on her toes and her lips moved towards his, at the last moment before he was about to lean forward her head moved to the side and she pulled on the back of his jacket, checking the tag.

"Kingsman," she commented with approval. "No wonder, class with-out ostentation."

"Glad you approve," he almost whispered in her ear.

Ginny lowered herself back on her heels, her hands sliding down his lapels, the weight of them there felt so lovely. "Harry," she started.

His name sounded so wonderful on her lips.

"Ginny!" a booming voice interrupted their moment from behind Harry.

"Gin Gin!" came a nearly identical voice.

"Shit," she murmured. "It's the twins. Don't believe anything they say, and don't take anything they offer."

"Not to worry. I remember them well enough from school," he assured her.

"Hello," one of the twins clapped him on the shoulder. "Who's this with you then?"

"Why it's that Potter lad, was Seeker for Hufflepuff our last year!" the other stated. "What brings you here this fine day?"

"Shove off, both of you," Ginny told them, sounding unimpressed.

"Come now little one. Just making sure that your date here is good enough for you," the one that was holding on to Harry's shoulder said.

"Fred," Ginny gritted out through her teeth in a warning.

"George actually," he corrected her.

Ginny dove her hand back into Harry's jacked pocket quickly and pulled out her lipstick, yanking off the cap and going at him with it, managing to make a line down the side of his face.

"Oi!" he rushed away from her with his hand over his lined cheek.

"Attention guests," Ginny yelled. "The twin with the line of lipstick on his cheek is FRED!" she glared at Fred menacingly.

"I'll just wash it off," he growled at her.

"Go right ahead, but it isn't coming off for at least three hours," she told him proudly. "Leave my date and I alone."

Harry stood there awkwardly while the two of them glared at each other, unsure what to do. But Fred's lip twitched and then the two of them were smiling at each other and she gave him a kiss to the cheek.

That was it. Fight over.

Harry did not understand sibling relationships.

"I'm assuming you did know that was Fred and not George?" he asked her when she came back to get her glass and the twins wandered off.

"He wouldn't have corrected me if he wasn't Fred," she said breezily before she took a sip.

Harry's jaw dropped a bit and he let out an involuntary laugh. "That's it? That's all you needed? It wasn't because he had a freckle on the apple of his cheek or anything?"

"Nope, that's all I needed," she grinned.

"Amazing," he said in wonder.

"I get that a lot," she said playfully and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"For good reason."

She gave him a private smile at that. He wished they hadn't have been interrupted before, but it was inevitable. There wouldn't be many opportunities to spend proper time with him here, but hopefully he could drum up the nerve to ask her to spend more time with him.

"Incoming," she said, looking over his shoulder. "Mind if I put my arm around you for this one?"

"Not at all," he told her immediately. Her arm was around his waist before he had a chance to see that the 'incoming' was actually Dean Thomas, her ex.

Harry didn't mind being used to deflect Dean's attention elsewhere in the slightest.

Moving around the reception area before dinner with Ginny was as easy as breathing. She knew everybody and managed to get Harry talking more than he had ever done before. There were loads of really nice people that she knew, and interesting one's too.

He met all of her brothers now, and the two eldest were certainly intimidating, but they seemed to give him silent approval. Harry wasn't sure whether it was his manners or his obvious reverence for their sister. It could have been the way he had called out Dean Thomas for being a dick and putting his hands on Ginny when she obviously didn't want them there, that would have been due to his third drink's influence. Either way, he had approval from her family. It was an odd feeling for him when he realized that, because he'd never met a girls family before, and this girl wasn't even his.

Yet.

He was praying to all the Gods that that was a 'yet'.

Neville and Denis truly believed that she had a minor crush on him in school, which he still couldn't wrap his mind around, but there was always the possibility that they were messing with him. Harry sat with the two of them through dinner and the speeches and he couldn't help feeling like if he'd made a different choice at the Hogwarts sorting that he could have been a part of this lovely circle of people well before now instead of just existing as pretty much a loner.

Once the plates vanished Ginny came over to sit with he and the other two. "Looking forward to getting these heels off."

"This wedding isn't nearly as stuffy as some of the events I've seen at the hotel," Denis commented. "And nowhere near as tacky. Did I tell you about the strip tease that one of the brides did the other week?"

Harry nearly choked on his drink at that one. The three of them leaned in to get the full details from Denis of some of the raunchier weddings he'd overseen, and they were hysterical.

"Alright, dancing is starting," Ginny tugged on Harry's hand. "You can dance, can't you?" she asked him.

"I can sway I guess," he offered. "I'll do my best not to tread on your foot, but you can't judge me for it if I do."

"Deal," she beamed.

The first few songs were slow, so Harry didn't need to do more than simply have his arms around her and smile down into her eyes.

"You've an amazing eye color," Ginny told him.

"Can't take all the credit. I got them from my mum," he told her in jest.

"I got mine from my mum too," she said happily. "And her 'take no bullshit' attitude."

"I love that about you." He hadn't meant to say that. It just slipped out.

"I loved how you refused to change your ways to try and fit in with Ernie MacMillan and the other tossers you were stuck rooming with," Ginny said in response.

"Justin wasn't so bad," he defended immediately. "Wait, you noticed that?"

Ginny nodded. "It was the same with Neville," she pointed to her friend at the other side of the dance floor with his boyfriend in his arms. "He wasn't the bravest or the brightest in most subjects, but he was himself. Never put on a farce." She looked back up at Harry. "I like that."

"I wish I'd chosen a different house," he admitted. "No offense to Tonks, who seemed defensive of her house earlier, but Hufflepuff was a little lonely for me."

"Lucky for you us Gryffindors and Weasley's have a thing for taking in orphans and loners and making them one of us," she smiled.

Harry's tongue felt twice the size it should have, and he wasn't sure if he was about to bungle this up, but he would never forgive himself if he didn't take a shot. "I'd like that," he whispered, looking her straight in the eye and hoping she knew what he meant.

"Harry," she started softly, "I've wondered what it would feel like if you asked me out for a long time now. How much longer are you going to keep me waiting?" There was a twitch at the corner of her lip and a twinkle in her eye, but he knew she was serious about her question.

He was fighting down the smile that was threatening to break his face in two and trying to calm his nerves enough to finally get this out without stumbling over his words. "Ginny, I've wanted to ask you out for five years now. From the first time we spoke to each other properly, you've been who I was comparing every other girl to. I'd love the opportunity to see how great you are in real life. Would you please go out with me?"

"Five years?" she asked weakly.

He gave a hard swallow as he nodding in minuscule head movements.

"Wow, that's a lot of wasted time between us," her head was shaking side to side in wonder. "You know what this means?" she asked seriously.

"Uh," he was at a loss. Was that a yes? Was it a no, because he was pathetic to her now?

She gave a slow lick to her bottom lip as she pulled herself forwards and pressed her chest against his, her hand going to the back of his head to pull his ear down to her mouth. "I noticed you first."

Whatever it was he thought she might say, it had absolutely not been that!

He pulled back from her abruptly with his eyes as wide as saucers. "You," he started off too loudly and managed a swallow to collect himself. "You mean," he lowered his voice to a reasonable conversing volume. "You mean you've been… interested in me since before we first spoke in the corridor after Luna, you know."

Ginny gave a silent giggle. "Yes," she said. "You were the cute Hufflepuff Seeker that was wicked talented on a broom. You had this whole tall, dark and broody thing going on. I think you had a few admirers in your years at school. I thought I was just one of them."

"Then, the start of my fifth year is when you... We had already played a game against each other and you were… God, I'm such an idiot," he shook his head. "Wait. That was a yes, right? You'll go out with me?"

She ran her hand down his arm and clasped it in his, pulling him off the dancefloor and out the tent.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Pond," she said easily as she blazed their trail to the pond several yards away.

"This mean's it's a 'yes', right? Because if this is how you say 'no', then I'm completely lost," he joked.

"This is a 'Hell yes'," she assured him. "I just didn't want to finally kiss you for the first time in front of everyone I'm related to."

He had absolutely no more questions for her after that admission. He was going to kiss her! She was changing their location for the sole purpose of them kissing in private!

His heart was racing as she led them around the pond and into the woods behind it a little bit. He was slightly concerned with how far they were going away from everyone else, but this was where she grew up, so he assumed she knew it well.

Finally, they broke through a bit of thicket in the copse of trees and into an area that was still surrounded by trees, but you could look up and see the stars. He could hardly hear the music from the tent where they were.

Harry removed his eyes from their surroundings and focused them back on Ginny, who was tucking her wand away in her garter belt and flashing him a bit of leg.

She'd conjured them a blanket.

Ginny Weasley wanted to snog him. Laying down on a blanket.

He moved forward to wrap his arms around her waist and pull them closer together before his heart gave out.

"Maybe we should try and lower expectations," he worried. "I mean, I know I've built this up in my head over the years, even more so since I first saw you again in person on Monday."

"Same here," she admitted. "Okay," she rolled her shoulders back, like she was getting ready to do some serious expectation lowering, then gave a little nervous shiver.

He was relieved he didn't seem to be the only one that was nervous.

"I, uh. I use way too much tongue," Ginny said. "Like being licked by a Golden Retriever really."

Harry let out a laugh. "Right. And um, I've got terrible breath. You're going to regret this immensely."

"That's okay. It'll be one of those learning experiences," she chuckled.

His hand slid up her arm to cup the side of her face. He was done joking now, he'd been pining for ages and they could be interrupted at any moment.

She pressed in closer to him and was the one to make the final amount of space between their lips disappear. He inhaled the scent of her as she came forward, it was the same scent that was all around him. The wildflowers at her home were what she smelled like, and it was his new favorite smell.

Her lips were soft against his and perfectly plump. They fit against his just right and it was nothing like being licked by a dog. Little explosions of nerves being satisfied were firing off in his head and belly as they moved together, her mouth like a magnet for his own. It was nothing like how he'd felt with the other girls he'd known. Ginny fit against him exactly how he'd fantasized she would. And she was reciprocating everything he was giving her, and he was giving her his everything. If ever there was a time to hold back, this wasn't it.

Ginny moaned softly against his lips when his hand massaged the middle of her back. He dared not go any further than she would allow, but as her own hands began to wander he took that as a sign that she would allow more than his reservationist voice in his mind was initially telling him.

Her fingernails in his hair sent a shock wave of warmth and pleasure through his entire body. As their hands wandered both of them began clutching at each other desperately. He hadn't anticipated this sweeping of emotions that was driving him on, but she was likewise affected, and it was spurring him further.

"Down," she panted. "Lay down."

To the ground they went and he instantly noticed that she had not only conjured a blanket, but added a cushioning charm as well.

"Why, Miss Weasley, are you trying to seduce me?" It was completely out of character for him, but it just slipped out. He would have been mortified if she'd pulled back then and looked offended, but she didn't.

Instead she pulled him closer and rolled them over, so he was on top of her. "Would you think me fast and loose if I were?"

"No, but I don't know if I'd be able to control myself if you say 'yes'." His lips were already back on her, leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses down her chest while she arched her back like she was giving him more room to play with.

"Lose control!" she breathed out. "Dear Merlin, please lose control."

Her hand went to the back of his head and pulled on the hair there to get his lips back to her own. He was already straining against his trousers at this point, and now she was asking him to shag her in the woods. It was a miracle he hadn't already cum!

He thrust himself against her and she moaned against his lips. She wasn't playing. Her hands came down to her dress skirt and she began pulling it up as his own hands flew to his belt. They were doing this. This was happening.

It wasn't completely dark out yet so he could see her knickers when her skirt was bunched up around her, thankfully it wasn't a poofy dress she'd been forced to wear, but she wasn't moving to take her knickers off.

"Did you want me to?" he pointed down at them.

Ginny shook her head. She didn't want them off. "Just pull them to the side," she breathed out. "I don't want to lose them."

Somehow, the idea of simply slipping her knickers to the side instead of having full access was hotter. He latched his mouth back on hers and his fingers went between her legs, rubbing her there until she was good and wet, which didn't take long.

"Please," she groaned against his mouth. "I'd rather cum when you're inside me."

Harry let out his own groan then and immediately moved his hand to his own boxers, shifting them down far enough for him to spring free. Not abandoning her mouth for a second he maneuvered his fingers to slip under her knickers and tug them over to the side and guide himself into her.

The pair of moans that emanated from their mouths at the satisfaction of him filling her was music to his ears.

This was Ginny Weasley. He was shagging Ginny Weasley for the first time in the woods behind her childhood home.

And she felt so fucking tight.

He slid in and out of her with ease and great appreciation. Her legs hooked around the backside of his knees and she set the movement that kept him almost fully seated inside her the whole time, just swirling around inside her and loving the way her moist walls were hugging his dick like they were welcoming him to his new favorite place it would be visiting often.

Being inside her like this felt absolutely incredible, but if he didn't pull himself upright just a little bit he was going to suffocate himself in her neck. While death by shagging was probably the best way to go, he'd leave that for when he was later in life and he and Ginny had managed to discover a few things the Kama Sutra left out.

"Ginny," he gasped as he felt her starting to squeeze tighter around him.

"I'm going to," she panted out, and couldn't manage any more than that before he felt her cumming around him.

Victory won he started pumping himself into her with the vigor he required until he too reached that point and stars exploded behind his eyes as he exploded inside of her.

He collapsed on top of her, clutching her close and rolling them over so that she wouldn't be crushed by his weight while they both caught their breath.

He lay there in a daze for several minutes.

This had surpassed his wildest dreams.

Well, not his wildest dreams. But this was reality, and he'd still shagged her on their first 'date', on a blanket in the woods no less.

And he'd been a successful shag for her too. He was mentally high-fiving himself for that one.

Ginny hummed and sucked in a deep breath that he knew meant they would have to detangle themselves shortly so she could get back to her Maid of Honor duties, so he moved his hands from their position wrapped around her, to merely resting against her hips and let her pull back.

"Thank you for that," she grinned down at him.

"Worthy of a repeat?" he asked, only somewhat nervously, as he did up his trousers.

"Many times over," she assured him, leaning forwards and sealing it with a kiss.

Harry knew he had a dopey and dazed expression. After several drinks and a quick, but successful first shag with the girl of his dreams, he wasn't sure he had much control over what his face was doing. "So five years ago, if I'd just asked you to Hogsmeade?" he started.

"Oh, I would have been over the moon," she sighed and gave him a lovely smile. "But instead you gave me many years to build you up in my mind."

He still couldn't wrap his mind around it. She had liked him before he'd even noticed her.

He held her hand as they went back to the tent knowing that it would be obvious to everyone what they'd just been up to from the smile on his face. But he didn't rightly care.

()()()


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: This one-shot is brought to you by a prompt from Celine Gryffindor who wanted to see what it would have been like if Ginny and Harry were raised as siblings, and how they would deal when they realize that they don't see each other as siblings anymore.**

**It also crosses of the 'Trying Not To Get Caught' Bingo Smut tile!**

**()()()**

**Careful**

**()()()**

It had been months now since they'd kissed, and it was wrong. Or at least it should be wrong.

It had been an emotionally fueled moment that had completely taken her by surprise and since then it was nearly all she could think about. She would relive all her memories of them together and begin parsing them for any indication that his feelings about her had changed. Then noticed that her thoughts about those moments had changed as well.

If anyone heard about the fact that they had kissed or about how she felt about him, knowing their history, they would think that it was disgusting.

That was why she would have these conflicting thoughts every once and a while about whether it was a good idea.

But the thing was that he wasn't actually her brother. They had simply been raised together. Didn't noble families at one point raise children together that were in arranged marriages with each other?

Harry Potter had come into their family before Ginny could say her first word. He had shared a room with Ron when the two of them were still in cribs. All of the make-believe adventures she'd gone on, he had been a part of.

Harry had really acted like a brother to her all the way up until she got her first real boyfriend, then she'd noticed there had been a little shift in their relationship.

Before Dean, Ginny was able to sit down beside Harry on the couch in the Common Room and cuddle up for comfort or warmth, just as she would have with Ron or the twins. But then Harry had started acting a little strange.

Ron and the twins were a little off about realizing their little sister wasn't so little anymore, but that didn't stop them from carrying on with her how they always had. Harry just didn't though. He had started being a little more quiet around her, moving over to the armchair or sitting on the floor if she headed towards him when he was on the couch.

She hadn't known what to make of it really.

In the end she'd chalked it up to him simply not liking the fact that she was seeing Dean and was trying not to let himself come down on her about it, like her blood brothers had. But then she and Dean had broken up, and Harry had still been acting a little odd. Then they started fighting about everything; Quidditch, manners, annoying sounds the other made, clothing choices, friend choices, any little difference of opinion, it just never stopped.

By the end of her fifth year she didn't know what was going on with Harry but he was not the boy she knew anymore. They all knew that Voldemort was after him, and his irregular shared consciousness with the bastard had certainly been weighing on him, but why that meant he had to be lashing out at her at every turn she just couldn't understand.

Then she did. And she didn't know what to make of it at the time.

Because it was huge.

Ginny's mum and dad had done all they could to make sure Harry was raised just like the rest of them. None of the Weasley kids thought it odd that this black haired and bespeckled child was being raised with them. For her, at least, Harry had simply always been there.

Her older brothers must have been told the truth before they had gone off to Hogwarts, but for Ginny, Ron and Harry they were told when the boys were ten and she was nine; the real story of how it was that Harry came to live with them.

Ginny had known that Harry was born to different parents, and he'd lost them in the last war, but she didn't realize until then that there was more to the story. And it didn't change her relationship with him when she found out either, nor when things started happening to him every year of his schooling. She and her brothers and parents had simply stood by him and supported him when he needed it.

He had simply been her annoying older brother that had developed a chip on his shoulder.

Right up until Bill and Fleur's wedding.

She knew that he and Ron were planning on taking off right after the wedding with Hermione, so did everyone else really.

The fact that they were going out into the unknown like that must have been the reason Harry had taken that chance and done it.

Ginny had just been trying to let off some steam by the pond before the guests were due to arrive and he'd been there, out of sight of everyone else, brooding like he did.

Well, she'd given him a tongue lashing for something or other, probably his poor attitude. Thing was, she couldn't remember what it was exactly she'd been laying into him about, because he'd kissed her to shut her up.

And boy, did it ever shut her up. Her brain had completely shut off when it happened, her arm had still been raised in gesture while his hand was cupping the back of her head and his lips were moving against hers. It should have felt wrong, she should have pushed him away.

But it didn't, and she didn't.

Instead she'd responded to him. She started kissing him back, just as feverously as he'd been kissing her. It felt right. It was confusing, and right.

When he pulled back she had no words. His deep and imploring eyes were asking her to not think he was lecherous or perverted. His expression was completely wracked with guilt and longing.

That was the moment that it all clicked.

He _had_ been trying to distance himself from her. He _had_ been intentionally starting fights with her. It was all because he'd wanted to do that to her; kiss her like he'd just kissed her. All his odd behavior had started after she'd gotten serious with her first boyfriend because Harry had realized he was _jealous_.

Then he was gone before she had recovered from the shock.

Harry had porter duties that he had to attend to, and she herself had only had five or so minutes to cool off outside before she was expected to be back inside and ready for the ceremony, since she was a bridesmaid.

They hadn't had any chance to talk about what happened between them, and she didn't know what she would have said to him even if they did.

For months after she'd been confused about her feelings for him. He wasn't her brother, he wasn't even a blood relation, but they'd been raised side by side. They had made mud pies together and he'd been there for all of her major life events, even going so far as to save her life when she was eleven.

That kiss should have felt wrong.

But it didn't. It was the most amazing kiss she'd ever experienced. Not that she'd experienced many kisses of course.

And then there was the letter he'd sent her for her sixteenth birthday. He was in hiding and trying to accomplish a nearly impossible task, and yet he'd remembered her birthday and sent her a lovely letter about why he'd taken what he believed might have been the only opportunity to do what he did.

He loved her.

And not in the way he'd been raised to love her, in the way that her father loved her mother, in the way that Harry was sure his own father had loved his own mother.

Harry described every little thing about her that he had fallen in love with and it had been so heart wrenching to see it all spelled out for her on those pieces of parchment.

Ginny had never been a vain girl, growing up with seven, well, six, brothers she hadn't often stared into the mirror or spent a long time figuring out what looked good on her, there had always been too much else she could have been doing.

But after reading his letter she started paying attention to the things about herself that Harry claimed to have fallen in love with; the color of her eyes, how she ground her back teeth to stop herself from arguing with someone, how quick she was to defend others. There had been more that he'd written there, with the story of when he'd first realized he was _in love_ with her and how his struggle to deal with that had him pushing her away.

During her sixth year at Hogwarts she kept doing those things that Harry loved about her, but she started feeling like she was doing them because Harry loved it about her. She'd spent time reflecting on everything she knew and loved about Harry, questioning whether she could fall in love with him like that as well.

Ginny had been terrified for Harry and Ron the whole time they were gone. When she came through the passageway to the Room of Requirement with Fred and George in the Battle of Hogwarts and seen Harry for the first time again it really hit her how much she'd been longing to see him again.

And how much her feelings toward him had changed in the course of that year apart.

He wasn't the brother type figure that she'd grown up with, that much had been obvious for a while now. But coming into the Room of Requirement and seeing him there, ready for Battle, she realized he was a man, and he was still in love with her.

His look alone said as much.

There was something that purred in her chest when she saw him there. It was telling her that when the day was done and they'd won, she was going to be kissing him again.

That wasn't what happened though.

They won the war of course, but there had been a lot of loss as well.

Fred, Remus, Tonks, Colin, the list of friends and loved one's went on and on. Ginny and Harry didn't get the opportunity to so much as talk to each other until days after.

And that brings us to now.

Now she was pacing in her room. It had been a full month since the Battle of Hogwarts. The funerals had all been had, Hogwarts had been mended, the Ministry had returned to its former glory, with a much better leadership under Kingsley Shacklebot than any other Minister she'd ever heard of, and the wizarding world was righting itself once more.

The Golden Trio had been pulled away for questioning and forced into press conferences and volunteering their time here and there. Ginny had barely had five minutes with either of them. Even Hermione, who was sleeping in Ginny's room. The girl would come back from whatever duty bound event she'd been doing for the day and fall instantly asleep, that or she'd been out necking with Ron somewhere.

But Ginny hadn't had any opportunities to be alone with Harry so they could talk.

And she wasn't entirely sure what she would say either.

Her dreams hadn't been full up of she and Harry _saying_ anything to each other. They had actually been full of the two of them getting up to everything _but_ talking. Her libido seemed to be wanting to make a few decisions for her that her mind wouldn't stop processing the ramifications of.

But they were in a strange situation here. And he didn't even know that she had been developing these feelings of returned affection over these last few months. He could easily have assumed she was giving him looks of pity and not longing.

She couldn't wait any longer. He was going to be heading to Australia with Hermione and Ron to track down Hermione's parents. Ginny couldn't make him wait anymore, and she certainly didn't want to either.

At least twenty minutes ago Ginny had heard Hermione and Ron sneaking up to Ron's room, Harry had moved into Percy's old room on the floor below her. Now was the time.

Ginny crept as quietly as she could down the stairs, and didn't bother with knocking on the door, she simply turned the knob as slowly as she could so that it would tell him that he was about to have a visitor. It was what the kids all did. Any time one of them wanted to sneak into the others room they simply turned the knob very slowly instead of knocking.

She had hoped he wouldn't be sleeping, and he wasn't. Harry was sitting at the desk by the window, turned sideways in his chair and giving her a concerned look. His jaw was locked and tense, and his eyes were almost pleading with her to be gentle about telling him he was crazy and that they'd never work out.

Ginny gave a pointed look at the door and Harry raised his wand, casting a silencing and locking charm so they wouldn't be overheard.

The click of the lock and immediate muffling of all the minute sounds from outside the room let her shoulders relax and the tension slip out of her. Now there was just she and him.

His eyes turned downwards, his expression turning into the sad and defeated look that she'd only seen on his face a handful of times before. Her heart ached when she saw it, it was absolutely not her intention to hurt him, and before he could open his mouth to tell her it was 'alright' in the way he did when what it really meant was 'I'll live if you want to stomp all over me and destroy my dreams', she had crossed the room.

Her body must have given up on letting her brain hold her back anymore, because it was her body that was in control now. Striding across the room she immediately came to her knees beside his chair and wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled his lips to hers.

Months of agonizing, questioning, the self-doubt, it all faded away when their lips met again. Whatever this was between them, it couldn't be wrong when it felt so right.

There was almost a relieved cry that emanated from Harry's lips when the space between them disappeared. It was a whimper of liberation, and Ginny understood exactly what it was that cry meant. Because her body too was completely giving in to all the repressed feelings that other peoples potential opinions had been standing guard around.

It became an intense kiss from the moment Harry's arms came around her. He pulled her against him and stood up from his chair, bring her with him to his feet. Ginny's arms locked around his neck and she threw her all into making this kiss worth all the waiting and wondering.

It was only as their brains grew to dangerous levels of requiring oxygen that they pulled away from each other's mouths, resting their foreheads against the other and gulping in deep breaths.

Ginny had her eyes closed as she savored the feel of simply being in his arms. She had never been kissed like that before, nor had someone's arms around her making her feel so much like this was the way things should be, always.

"Ginny," he whispered.

She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and let it out, readying herself for this next part. The kissing him was one thing, trying to figure out their lives and how they were going to move forward from here was quite another.

"Harry," she managed to whisper back.

He ran his hand upwards along her spine and into her hair, encouraging her to look up at him as he pulled his head back. She opened her eyes and found herself staring deep into his gorgeous green one's.

They absolutely had to talk about this. There was no way they couldn't.

It was merely with a slight raise of the center of his eyebrows that he asked her. It was all the question that was necessary. It was him asking her to tell him everything she thought of his letter, and everything that had led her to come to his room tonight.

But how did she put all of that into words?

"It took me by surprise," she managed finally.

The question on his face faded away, a soft smile formed on his lips and his eyes grew slightly brighter as he relaxed. His arms were surer around her and she felt perfectly comfortable and safe standing here just like this with him.

In his bedroom and in his arms.

Mentally she was shaking her head and wondering what the hell her past self would have thought of seeing this moment only one year ago today. At this point last year they would have been getting ready to pack up and head home from Hogwarts and Ginny was pretty sure that Harry and she were in a row over something stupid. Then she had chalked it up to her OWL stress and You-Know-Who.

"I just couldn't leave, possibly never coming back, without telling you," he murmured.

Ginny let out a small chuckle, "yeah, you told me alright."

He brought his hand around to the side of her face, his thumb running along the crease in her cheek. "I missed this smile."

"Not surprising, you haven't seen it for quite a long time," she raised her eyebrows at him, referring to his behavior to her when he was in pursuit of driving them apart.

"I'm sorry," he sighed. "Perhaps it wasn't the best way to go about it. But I just didn't know how to deal with my feelings for you."

Ginny nodded. "I understand that. I've spent the last year going over how potentially wrong this is."

"Trust me, I've been over it a million times in my head. But it was how we were raised, not what we are," he said determinedly. "When I saw you snogging Dean that time, I had this blind fury shoot through me, and it took ages, and a rather racy dream to realize I wasn't angry, I was jealous."

Ginny's whole body sagged with an emotional weakness at that. His letter had mentioned that scene with her and Dean being the starting point for him, but to hear it from his lips was something else entirely.

"I've read and reread your letter a hundred times," she told him. "And I am incredibly grateful that you sent it to me after you'd kissed me. If it hadn't been for that, I don't know," she paused to try and formulate the right wording. "When you kissed me before the wedding, it didn't feel wrong. It felt incredible, and if you hadn't have done that, I don't know how I might have responded to reading your letter."

"I'm that good of a kisser, am I?" he prodded softly.

She let out a soft chuckle, "apparently. And I was pretty sure you hadn't been honing your skills with someone, so I knew there had to be real emotions behind it."

"But you still thought of me as a …" he couldn't say the word.

She understood his inability to say it. To nearly everyone, they essentially were siblings. But they weren't. He wasn't ever officially adopted into the Weasley family, he was simply raised alongside she and Ron with their other siblings.

They had all built forts together and played make-believe, learned how to fly their brooms, but Harry was _not_ her brother.

"It took that shock to open my eyes really," she admitted.

Harry nodded, "it was that shock of you and he that made me realize it as well." He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

It was such a simple gesture, and she closed her eyes, leaning forward and their lips touched again. Not feverously this time, they brushed their lips together and moved in slow and tender motions against each other's with all the time in the world before them.

Ginny felt any remaining stress she had simply melt away as his lips caressed her own, there was this lovely sensation in her head that made it feel like she was entering Nirvana. He tasted slightly of the hot chocolate he drank before bed and it tasted even more delicious on his lips than it did in a mug.

It was minutes later when they finally broke apart again.

"But what are we doing?" Ginny asked, her hands now fisted in the front of his shirt to regain herself. "What do we tell the others? What, what is this?"

"I want it to be a lot of things," he admitted to her. "But I also know that this will be a big shock to everybody."

Ginny fought not to let out a single loud laugh in his face at the ridiculousness of that. Of course it would be a big shock. There would be all kinds of things said about the two of them that they were by no means in a place to be able to bear through it all as a united front.

"Time," she managed to get out. "We need to give this time before…"

"But you want to?" he asked, looking for assurances.

"I do," she told him, a sappy smile spreading across her face. "I want to give this a chance, very badly."

()()()

Harry was chewing his lip. It was what he did when he was thinking and trying to come up with a solution to an unnerving problem.

Last night his prayers had been answered.

Ginny coming to his room not to tell him that they couldn't be together, but to tell him that she was willing to try had been all he'd hoped for. The kiss that they'd shared by the pond the day of Bill's wedding had carried him through the whole of last year on the run.

Everything else had been weighing him down while he was in hiding with Ron and Hermione. He knew that no matter how things turned out, his mum was going to give him hell. He and Ron both. And she had, but she'd also been so overwhelmed with the fact that her two boys were safe and the battle was over that she'd forgiven them in the same breath.

Dad had understood Harry and Ron leaving immediately, even before the wedding he'd been giving them both words of encouragement and wisdom. He'd probably foreseen the possibility of what lay in Harry's future before he'd even agreed to take him in and raise him as one of his own.

And how was he repaying them for raising him as one off their own?

By falling in love with their one and only daughter.

It had taken weeks and several raunchy dreams for Harry to come around to the fact that he couldn't think of Ginny as his sister anymore. For quite a while it had left him feeling dirty. Worrying something was wrong with him.

The only thing that he had been able to do for months to keep his sanity was remind himself that it wasn't actually incest.

What kind of saving grace idea was that supposed to be?

So, then he'd started trying to distance himself from her, and when that failed because she was too brazen and determined not to be ignored, well then he starting fighting with her. Great verbal sparring match's broke out between the two of them and every time she would go red in the face and get this set look in her eye he couldn't help but fall in love with her just a little bit more.

He had simply been a lost cause.

Going off in search of the Horcruxes with Ron and Hermione was going to also allow him the time to get over it all. He'd been sure that their time apart, with an all-important task to focus on, would make him forget about those feelings.

But then she'd come down to the pond the morning of the wedding.

And she got mad at him again.

She was so beautiful and irresistible when she was like that.

He couldn't fight it any more at that point, knowing that he would be gone and away from her for an unknown amount of time had given him the ability to throw caution to the wind and take that minute chance.

Boy, had it ever been worth it.

Last night had proven that all over again.

She wanted to try.

Harry knew she might not yet feel about him the way he did about her, but he had been falling in love with her for over a year before their first kiss, so he was okay with biding his time until she got there as well.

This wasn't why he was chewing his lip though, not the Ginny part of it anyhow. It was everyone else he was concerned about. No doubt that the rest of the family would have quite the reaction to the two of them getting together, but there was potentially a way to ease them all into the idea.

And it started with the two of them becoming comfortable with the relationship first.

The Australia trip was two days away now. It was just supposed to be Hermione, Ron and Harry, but Harry was pretty sure he could convince everyone that Ginny should come along too. He'd run the idea past her last night and her eyes had grown wide and wonderous at the prospect. The Potter family money was footing the bill for the rest of them, one more person on the bill hardly made much of a difference.

Now he needed to get everyone else on board too.

One deep breath. And here we go.

Harry opened the door to the hallway and bounded down into the kitchen. "Morning, mum," he gave her a kiss on the cheek to the woman who had raised him as she stood in front of the stove making the mountains of breakfast food to feed her army.

"Morning dear," she replied, before giving a swat to his hand as he tried to knick a piece of bacon from the pan. "Stop that, there's already some on the table," she scolded.

"Where is everyone?" he asked. It was still before eight, but generally there was more movement in the house by this time.

"Ron and Hermione have gone out for a _stroll_," she emphasized, "and most everyone else is having a lay in save for your father, he's gone into the office already."

Ron and Hermione's 'strolling' had been occurring quite regularly. It was clear that everyone was happy for them to have finally admitted to themselves and each other that they were in love and considering all that those around them had put up with before this, no one minded them sneaking of for 'strolls'.

"Er, speaking of Ron and Hermione and their, er, _strolling,_" he started. "It's rather new, and rather a long time coming for them."

"It is," she agreed.

"Well. I'm a little worried, with this trip coming up to get Hermione's parents. It could be a while before we find them, and it is going to rather be like a break from all the chaos here as well," he rambled slightly. "I really don't want to feel like a third wheel."

"Harry, you aren't telling me that you don't want to go?" she asked astounded.

"No," he said with a laugh on his breath. "I was actually," he paused as he heard someone else coming down the stairs and saw Ginny appear at the entrance. She looked so much more fresh faced this morning than he'd seen her in a long time, and knowing he was the reason behind it made his chest swell with pride. "I was thinking that Ginny could come along," he managed, his eyes locked on hers now.

"Ginny?" mum asked in confusion.

"I could come along where?" Ginny asked, in the perfect tone to cover up the fact that she knew exactly what he was asking their mother… her mother… his adoptive, well, not adoptive, but his… mother figure?

Urgh, this was so confusing to get all the terminology right. If they wound up married one day then it wouldn't be so odd that he too called her mother 'mum'.

Harry mentally backpedaled on that one. No good could come from putting the cart before the horse on that prospect.

"To Australia," Harry shrugged. "You've had a really serious year as well. Thought you might enjoy a change of scenery for a bit."

"Harry, darling. That is a very generous offer," mum started.

"I'd love to!" Ginny said excitedly and bound towards him, giving him a big hug.

He went slightly rigid as she came into his arms, forcing himself not to relax and hug her back the way he wanted to.

"Harry. Ginny. I didn't say 'yes'," mum pointed out.

"Didn't say yes to what?" asked Ron as he came through the door from the yard with Hermione beside him.

"Harry invited me to come to Australia with you all!" Ginny said brightly.

Harry had to give her credit, she was playing this role very convincingly.

Now Ron and Hermione's eyes turned to him in surprise, looking for his reasoning in their expression. The two of them obviously got on with Ginny just fine, but they had been a triad for so long that it was rather like he was springing it on them.

"I figured it might be nice to have someone to talk to while you two are busy… not talking," he told them pointedly.

The pair of them flushed at that, and Hermione let out a very un-Hermione like giggle. "It's a good idea really," she said, tugging gently on Ron's arm. "The more the merrier."

"Come on, mum," Ginny said pleadingly to the last person in the room that still held any hesitation. "I'll be seventeen soon enough, and it really has been just an awful year. A few of them actually. I would really appreciate this."

Mum gave a sigh of defeat and Ginny let out another squeal of excitement.

Ron settled down next to Harry at the table to start in on breakfast. "You really want our sister coming with us to keep you company?" he asked.

"Ron, she hasn't felt like a sister to me for a few years now," Harry said with a shrug. "She's just… Ginny. I know I'll enjoy her company while you two are busy developing this new relationship of yours."

Ron turned his gaze to Hermione then and a sappy look came over her face, "I can't believe how much time we wasted, you know?"

Harry allowed himself another look at Ginny then and found she was already looking at him, noticing a glint in her eyes that was there for him and him alone.

He couldn't wait until they were on the other side of the world.

()()()

Ginny sat down hard on the ground taking in deep breaths and trying her best to fight the urge to throw up. She couldn't open her eyes at the moment, by from the sounds of the three others around her they weren't doing much better than she.

She'd taken Portkey's a time or two before, but that was a very long distance they had gone, and there were three of those they'd undertook. Going from the Ministry in London to Tbilisi, Georgia, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Canberra, Australia, which is where they were now.

At each stop they had to wait a full hour before they could continue on and she didn't think it was enough time now.

"How long until we feel right again?" she asked no one in particular.

"Coming from England you'll be up walking around in half and hour, but I won't recommend eating anything for two hours," came an Austrailan accented man's voice close by.

Ginny didn't jump in surprise of hearing a strangers voice, there had been Ministry representatives at every stop to ensure that any Muggle's around them wouldn't notice anything.

In Tbilisi Ginny had been surprised that the Portkey hadn't landed them inside a building but rather out in nature at a sea side. Same with the Kuala Lumpur one, and even now she could hear the tell tale sound of water close by.

"Pleased to have the opportunity to meet you all. We've had news of what went on in the U.K. and it's pretty cool that I get to be the one to greet you," the voice said.

"Won't be when I upchuck on your shoes," Ron moaned.

Considering Hermione's voice didn't automatically scold him there was no doubt that she was feeling just as awful as the rest of them.

"Don't worry about it. You'll feel better shortly. I'm Gavin, I've been assigned to help you out while you're here." His voice sounded like it had gone down an octave or two, and Ginny was grateful for that.

They really did need the full half hour Gavin had mentioned before they started feeling able to sit up. He had patiently waited and simply covered them in blankets he'd conjured while he told them some information about where exactly they were and where he would be taking them to stay for the night.

It was wintertime in Australia and only about five degree's outside (Celcius) so Ginny really appreciated the blanket. Knowing that she was going through two very hot countries she hadn't bothered dressing for the cold, figuring she would have the physical strength to pull a sweater from her pack when they got to the destination.

Harry had pretty well left the planning bits to Hermione, who had reached out to the Australian Ministry with her problem and they were eager to assist, considering the Golden Trio's status. Harry had footed the bill, but he hadn't been able to tell Ginny where or what they would all be staying in. He didn't even know that the Capital of Australia was Canberra, he thought the Portkey would take him to Sydney.

Once the four of them were able to stand upright Ginny took in the park scenery around them. It was a lovely fall scene with the leaves on the ground and crisp chill in the air with the lakefront beside them. Gavin was a nice looking short haired blonde bloke that was nearing his thirties and wearing a smart button down under a peacoat.

Hermione summoned everyone's jackets from their bags and Gavin started regaling them with all the tourist information they might require for their stay.

The hotel that they were staying at for the night was just over an hours walk away, but Ginny was assured by the incessantly chatty Ministry official that the exercise was best for after a journey such as theirs, to which she shared a dubious look with Ron and Harry. Both of them looked like they wanted to lay back down and wait for the next day.

Hermione though was back to her usual self and peppering Gavin with questions about all the resources she might have access to so she could track down her parents.

As Hermione reached out and began walking hand in hand with Ron, Ginny felt a small frown form on her face. A glance over to Harry showed that he must have had the same reaction.

It was too soon for them to do that.

Once they finally got to the hotel Ginny was feeling much better, but not quite well enough to embrace the entirely too white paint on the lobby walls. Gavin went to get them their room keys and Hermione pulled Ginny aside just as she noticed Ron was pulling Harry aside.

"So, I didn't have a chance to run this past you yet, but, um, we'll be having two twin rooms booked at each of the places we're staying," she started.

"Okay," Ginny just looked at her curiously as a red tinge overtook Hermione's face.

"Well, see. When it was just going to be the three of us, it wouldn't have been that big of a deal. Whether, you know, Ron wound up in my room and Harry got his room to himself."

Ginny's brain stopped functioning for a moment. "Oh," was all she said. Hermione was asking Ginny to bunk in with Harry.

This trip just got a whole lot more interesting.

"I'm sure you'll have a good time with him," Hermione assured her. "I've shown him how to use a television and there are all sorts of sight seeing adventures you two could go on that Gavin mentioned."

"Hermione," Ginny shook her head, "don't worry about it. It's fine."

"Really?" she asked with relief.

"Yeah, really," Ginny used a tone that indicated she was doing Hermione and her brother a favor. Really, this was bloody perfect. She and Harry wouldn't have to come up with excuses for why they were sneaking off for privacy.

Ginny looked over at the boys and Harry was giving her an interesting smile.

Once the rooms were assigned, brochures given out by Gavin and a schedule set for the next day set Ginny and Harry found themselves standing in a room of their own with nothing but hours of alone time splayed out before them.

"What do you want to do first?" Ginny asked, looking over some of the glossy pamphlets they'd been given, feeling slightly more nervous about this arrangement than she had a minute ago. They were alone in a hotel room after all, and they'd only just decided to give this thing between them a go three days ago.

"Are you really comfortable with this?" he asked.

Ginny spun around to look at him. He'd claimed to have been falling in love with her for two years, and now he was having second thoughts just as she'd started jumping into the idea? "What?!" she asked incredulously.

Harry's eyebrows shot up at her reaction, then a grin stretched out over his face. "I meant the sleeping arrangements," he chuckled.

"Oh," her metaphorical talons retracted. "That," she blushed.

Harry came towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I really hope you're comfortable with _this_," he said before kissing her.

Ginny sighed against his lips, relaxing against him and letting her mouth respond non-verbally. The slight tension between them over the past three days since they last managed alone time may have been spurring them on a bit.

Every time she'd found herself looking at his lips when they were in the same room together she would bring up how it had felt to sneak into his room and essentially throw herself at him. Who knew that Harry's lips could hold this much power over her after only two kisses. She'd known him her whole life and yet until last year his lips had just been a part of him. Now they were the teasing and massaging beacons that turned her into a pile of mush.

The feel of their chapped yet soft plushness against her own lips spurned something inside of her that none of the other two boys she'd kissed had managed.

Perhaps it was simply because this relationship was more potentially life altering than the others, but the truth was that she hadn't been able to push him away when he'd kissed her for the first-time last year, and she had the opportunity.

Everything just felt right when he was kissing her, and the small moans that were emanating from her chest and out those lips that were pressed against his was letting them both know just how right she thought it was.

Harry was the one to pull back. Ginny felt his breath coming out in deep puffs softly against her face as she attempted to open her eyes. But her lids were heavy, and it took a while to pry them open and find him looking down at her like she was his whole world.

It warmed her heart to see that expression on his face aimed at _her_.

This was new, and it was going to be odd with their history, but she had no doubt that they would find a way to make it work.

()()()

Wendell and Monica Wilkins had not been very hard to track down. It had been Muggle method that allowed Hermione to find them. The Australian Dental Association had them listed as running a practice out of Wollongong and it was only after three days that they found out where they lived.

Ron and Hermione went in to visit them under the guise of being 'new neighbors' and thirty minutes later Wendell and Monica Wilkins were once again Martin and Jean Granger, and they were incredibly upset with Hermione once they understood what she'd done to them.

Hermione insisted on staying in Wollongong while her parents packed up their house and readied to move back to England and Ron insisted on staying with her as well.

That left Harry and Ginny to explore the country by themselves, and they were all too happy to do that.

For one week it was just the two of them in a rented Caravan driving up and down the East coast, and it had been amazing. They got all the way up to Brisbane, and though it was still cold, walking along the ocean and not having to worry about someone seeing them doing so hand in hand was freeing.

Harry would have understood if Ginny needed some more time to grow this comfortable with him, but having it just be the two of them seemed to have gotten them over that awkward hurdle much faster than if there were others around. They had been taking the physical part slow, just snogging and spending their nights cuddled up to each other, in the caravan; it was almost necessary with how cold it got at night. He was worried that progressing past that would be pushing his luck. And thus far, he was feeling pretty lucky.

When they got back to Wollongong the Grangers were ready to return to England, but Hermione and Ron were flying with them in an airplane instead of taking the Portkey. Harry didn't know whether to think them lucky they didn't have to experience what he and Ginny were going to with the nausea.

Now that they were back home though, Harry was missing the feel of her sleeping beside him.

Their days were full up of each other, and that was great. Having to sneak off in order to steal a few kisses was still exciting, but he wasn't sure just how much of that excitement she would appreciate feeling. He'd been doing an alright job of hiding just how aroused she made him, but he couldn't help wondering if she was feeling anywhere near as hormonal as he was.

Her birthday was when he found out. It was two months into their secret relationship and after the little celebration at the Burrow died down Ginny had whispered that she would be seeing him later in his room.

He wasn't nervous so much as excited as he waited for her that night. After the bonfire had died down and the bottle of Ogdens had been imbibed everyone parted ways with their final farewell to the birthday girl the rest of them trickled inside and to their rooms.

It was just the Weasley's and a single Potter in the Burrow now, Hermione's parents were keeping her to themselves for the rest of the summer before she returned with Harry and Ginny to finish their final year, Ron was going straight to work with George but would be visiting every chance he got. As Harry settled into his bed, wearing just his boxers and a shirt he knew Ginny liked, he waited for her.

It wasn't the door he should have been waiting to open though, she came in through the window.

Harry chuckled at her less than graceful entrance into his room from a seated position on his bed.

"Hey," she whispered in protest, "I could have demanded that you come up to _my_ room. I am the birthday girl after all!" Raising her wand she locked and sealed his door before simply climbing on his bed and pushing him back against the mattress.

He hummed in satisfaction as she kissed him. "Sorry for laughing. Next time I'll climb into your room instead."

Generally they lay side by side when they were in a bed like this, not tonight though, she was straddling him as she pinned him down while she began snogging him.

Harry was all for it, until he started growing a little too into it, emphasis on the 'growing'. He didn't want her to stop kissing him like that, but he was clenching his toes in an effort to try and restrain himself and talk his body down.

It wasn't working, the weight of her body and the position they were in, the swell of her breasts against his chest. There was no way to talk 'little Harry' down.

And then she rubbed herself against it and Harry's eyes rolled back in his head as he let out a moan.

As he lay there savoring the feeling of her pressed up against his erection he realized he could feel her breath on his face, not her lips on his. And he froze.

His eyes opened and he saw nothing but her silhouette and the outline of her own eyes looking down at him. He didn't know what to do. He hadn't ever had a girlfriend before, let alone been in love with someone that already meant the world to him before they'd even kissed. He didn't know how far she'd gone with Dean and he didn't want to, but dear Merlin he was desperate for her to make that same move with her pelvis again.

"Ginny," he started, not knowing at all what he would say after her name.

A shadow of a smile came to her lips though and she lowered her mouth back to his and gave another small rock of her hips. Now his moan against her lips was followed up with yet another rock of her hips. Soon they were both grinding against each other with purpose and their lips weren't only on each other's.

In a moment of blind courage Harry grabbed under her knee and rolled them over so he was on top, his hand leaving her knee to trail up her thigh and explore another avenue that had yet to be discovered by him. His hand continued its way up her side as he mouth met the crux of her neck. Then his fingertips grazed along the bottom of her breasts.

Her beautiful and tantalizingly braless breasts.

One small stroke, two. Coupled with the grinding movements their lower halves were repeating amid their panting, his finally touching her breasts properly probably didn't require this much hesitation and allowance for her to stop him.

But he couldn't risk overstepping.

"Argh," she groaned. "Just grab it already." Her hand flew to his own and she put his full palm over top of her soft mound herself. "Why do you think I took off my bra in the first place?"

Harry grinned as he continued kissing her. He didn't want to respond verbally. He didn't want to do anything that was going to disrupt this path that they were on.

The panting, moaning and touching continued until he was at his breaking point. Sweat was starting to form on his forehead and their little session was becoming much less about the kissing and much more about the movements their lower halves were doing.

It was turning him on even more to see that she was enjoying what they were doing as much as he was. When her back arched off the mattress and she let out a cry it was the best noise he had ever heard. A tension in his back released at that sound and it sent a signal through him to simply let go.

He cried out as well right before he collapsed on top of her.

Sliding down to lay beside her he pulled her close. "That was," was all he could manage to get out.

"Yeah," she breathed out, "it was."

He waved a hand down at himself to make the mess he'd made disappear. It was probably the only spell he would ever have nailed down wandlessly and he was pretty sure it was the only one he really needed to know.

As his breathing returned to normal the shock of what they'd just done had set in. Yes, he was an eighteen-year-old guy now, but this was he and _Ginny_. That was monumental.

"Ginny," he started, the slight panic he was experiencing coming though in his tone.

"We don't have to dissect everything, Harry."

She didn't even need him to finish his thought aloud before giving him assurances. He rested back against the pillows properly once more. That was yet another reason that he was sure she was the perfect girl for him. They didn't need many words between them. She could almost read his mind.

The whole 'him being in love with her and she not knowing' aside, she really did just understand him and where his mind would be going given a situation.

"Has, erm," he gave a swallow. "Has anyone gotten you to…"

He felt her eyelashes flutter against his cheek at that attempt of a question.

"You want to know what I got up to with Dean?" she asked dubiously.

"Or… anyone else," he said quietly, his inexperience and self-consciousness shining through in the question. "Ow!"

She hit him in the stomach. Not hard, but he hadn't been expecting it.

"What 'anyone else'? You think there was a chance I was getting up to something with some bloke last year while you were on the run?" she asked.

He let out a sigh. "Look I wanted to believe that after I kissed you that you would see me in this whole new light, and yeah, part of me thought that sending that letter on your birthday might have you, I don't know, swooning for me slightly. But I also had some horrible thoughts of you trying to take some of the edge off from the very shitty world around you by, you know, um…" he couldn't ever say it.

"There was no one else Harry," Ginny assured him, her hand coming up to cup his face and pull him towards her for a sweet kiss. "And that other person you mentioned? We snogged a bit."

Even in the dark she must have been able to make out his dubious expression.

"Okay, we snogged," she corrected herself and left off any qualifiers. "But that's it. I was only fifteen and I knew it wasn't going to last. I just liked being wanted."

He heard her words and let them sink in, the important part warming him to his very soul.

"You think we're going to last?" he asked her importantly.

He could almost hear the smile that came to her face before her nose rubbed gently against his own.

"Yes," she whispered.

()()()

Being back at Hogwarts wasn't as difficult for her as she thought it would be. Before arriving she'd been anticipating moments of anxiety when she walked down certain halls, or sitting in Muggle Studies or Defense classes. She didn't though, and it was partly because the Professors of said subjects had been so vastly different and added calming pops of color and life into their classrooms to make sure that they were as wildly different from the previous year as possible, including moving the classrooms to different rooms than they had been.

Potions wasn't even given in the dungeons anymore, even though Slughorn's class had been one of the more tolerable one's.

Having Harry and Hermione back with her had made a lot of difference too.

Hermione had been a little disappointed that she wasn't made Head Girl, but Harry and Ginny pointed out all of the reasons behind that decision and it all boiled down to one thing; she wasn't there last year. Hermione hadn't been there to see what it was exactly all the other students had had to go through. She couldn't fully comprehend certain triggers that might set off some of the second and third years, she didn't know which Slytherin's had been secretly trying to help everyone else.

Miranda Jenkins had been a much better choice. She was a Ravenclaw seventh year, a proper seventh year, and while she hadn't been one of the DA members that had taken the reigns in the resistance the previous year, she had been the one that managed to keep a level head and calm down those panicking.

Ginny certainly didn't want the post either. Because she was the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain!

She made Harry try out to get his old Seeker position, and of course he did. He had also been a big help with her planning sessions, though they didn't generally get up to much planning when they were alone in the changerooms.

That was where they were right now.

The Slytherin vs. Gryffindor game was around the corner and instead of drawing out plays like they'd told Hermione they were doing Harry had her pinned up against the lockers and was doing his best to get her to cum using his fingers.

After the night of her birthday they'd done quite a bit of exploring with their hands and it had resulted in amazing eruptions of bliss for the pair of them. She really felt she had the easier end of the deal, there wasn't much of a learning curve when it came to getting Harry off; rub and tug, gentle movements, good grip. Using her mouth, which she'd only just started doing, had been even more straight-forward.

Harry on the other hand needed to be fumbling around for a bit before figuring out the right amount of pressure and rhythm to get her going that day. A girls sexuality was a moving target, and today she was needing much more pressure on her clit.

Laying a hand over his she applied more pressure against his palm so it would stimulate her more. Once he got it just right she was moaning against his mouth and panting encouragingly.

Harry lay a trail of kisses up her jaw as her head fell back and she focused solely on the feel of his fingers inside her and circular motion he was making with his palm.

"I want to use my mouth on you," he whispered in her ear, causing her to simply whimper in response before nodding.

At this point in her arousal, she didn't care. The end was in sight and he probably could have suggested they properly shag and she wouldn't have batted an eyelash.

Harry removed his hand and picked her up under her bum, placing her down at the end of the bench in the middle of the room and knelt down between her legs. He'd been there before, but only to observe what his hand had been doing. Ginny wasn't shy about it with him now, simply desperate to ride that wave of pleasure.

When Harry's tongue met her clit she hadn't been fully prepared for just how good it would feel. It was hot and wet and the pressure he was putting against it with the circular motions he was making had her crying out in pleasure quite loudly.

"Shh," he warned her wryly.

"Don't tell me to shush, just do that again," she demanded, all propriety gone.

Positioned up on her elbows so she could see him, her skirt flipped up over her belly and knickers hanging off one of her ankles, the sight of him going to town on her was just about the hottest thing she'd ever seen.

"Fuck," she cried as he gave a hard suck to her clit. The familiar pressure was building and it was obvious to her that it was going to be a bigger finish than she'd had before. The sounds emanating from her mouth were growing uncontrollable and her hips were rocking her pelvis against his mouth in a desperate rhythm.

"Harry!" she screamed out as she came. The waves kept crashing over her as he moved his mouth lower to simply lap at her entrance, the shock of the new sensation causing her to jerk and her breath to catch while she continued to ride out her orgasm, finally falling back against the bench.

"I quite enjoyed that," Harry said smugly as he pulled back and pushed her legs together, looping her other foot through the leg hole in her knickers and pulling them back up her legs. She managed to raise her bum a bit off the bench so he could finish the job.

"That was incredible," she sighed as he flipped her skirt back over her to cover her up.

"I could tell," he held himself over top of her, his hands bracing against the bench at either side of her head and lowering himself just enough to give her a few gentle kisses.

Ginny simply lay there still recovering while he peppered her all over with his sweet lips. When he kissed her full on the mouth she could taste herself, it was an odd taste, but not entirely repulsive. It was good to know he didn't mind that, because if that was what it felt like every time then she might be requesting it very often.

The door to the locker room opened while he was still over top of her and they both turned their heads sharply towards it to see Hermione standing in the open doorway with an expression of shock on her face.

Harry scrambled to stand up and Ginny fell off the bench in her dis coordination before coming to stand beside him.

"Er, hi Hermione," Harry said awkwardly. "All done your assignments then?"

"I," she started, her eyes darting between the two of them. "I suspected that you two didn't quite have the relationship that everyone thought you did, but…"

"Wait, what?" Ginny asked. "You noticed that there was something between Harry and I?" She had a moment of panic, wondering what it was that gave them away. They had tried to be so careful because they still weren't ready to deal with any backlash that could come from people finding out that they were together.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You two have no idea how you look at each other, do you?"

Ginny exchanged a startled look with Harry then and wondered when they would have exchanged dopey grins or longing expressions in the presence of others. Having to hide their relationship had been difficult when all she'd really wanted to do was be able to hold his hand as they walked down the corridors like the other couples did.

"What have you noticed?" Harry asked cautiously.

Hermione's face took on a bit of color then. "It wasn't too obvious to begin with, and I only started paying close attention because I worried for you," she told Harry directly.

"Worried for me?" he asked.

"I was worried about you potentially having… developmental problems," she blushed a bit more.

"What do you mean developmental problems?" Ginny was confused. Harry was a perfectly normal teenager, had been through the whole process of being a teenager, which was amazing given all he'd had to deal with.

"Well, so far as I knew you'd never shown interest in a girl, and I wondered if maybe there might be a … boy you were interested in," she tried saying delicately.

"You thought I might be gay?" he asked, confusion written all over his face.

"Which would have been completely fine," Hermione assured him.

"Hermione, I'm not gay," Harry stated.

"Clearly," Hermione rolled her eyes. "But I'd never seen you show any interest in girls, Ron has never once mentioned you fancying a girl. You went to the Yule Ball with Parvati and clearly weren't at all interested in _her_. But," she shook her head, "all that is irrelevant now."

Ginny hadn't ever thought about it before. Harry really hadn't shown any interest in other girls, she supposed that as Hermione was his best friend it was rather sweet that she wanted to watch out for him and understand his preferences so that she could be supportive, no matter what. But there was no way that Harry was interested in boys.

Colin would have been all over him more if he had been, and Colin's gay-dar had been impressive.

"But you've noticed us being a certain way with each other?" Ginny asked. "In public?" Her worry was coming through in her tone. They weren't ready for others to know yet. They wanted to be able to break it to the family first.

"Yes," she said simply. "And I understand why you were hiding it, but how long has this been going on? Why haven't you told me? Or anyone else?"

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look then. "Hermione," he started. "I think you know the answer to that. You know we were raised together. Even when we were getting on the Hogwarts Express to come here mum asked that I watch out for '_my sister'_." He gave a cringe at the wording.

Hermione's face crinkled up a bit at that as well. "Yes, but you aren't children anymore. I don't think it is any different that those in foster care falling in love with each other and that happens. If there is any awkwardness then they will just need some time to adjust, that's all."

"I think that's oversimplifying it," Ginny rolled her eyes. Though, in the back of her mind she was wondering if they should just rip off the band aid over the Christmas holidays. They could drop the bomb and then head back to Hogwarts and see what was left to discuss come Easter.

"Well, are you two in love?" Hermione asked simply.

Ginny turned to Harry then and watched as his turned as soft as hers felt, his eyes telling her that they were absolutely both in love with the other.

"Completely," she whispered, more to Harry than Hermione.

"Then you shouldn't hide this from people," Hermione said succinctly. "There'll be a bit of a reaction at first, but it'll fade away.

Harry stepped towards Ginny then and wrapped his arms around her. "You think we're ready?"

They hadn't been during the summer. They had needed this time to become a strong enough united force before letting the word out. But now they had talked through anything and everything that could be a hurdle and become stronger.

"Christmas break," Ginny decided. "When everyone is together, we'll tell them."

Harry grinned and gave her a kiss to seal their agreement.

()()()

"When did you find out?" George asked his mum, passing her the bottle of Odgens that was going around the table.

"Oh," she waved a drunkenly dismissive hand, "I can see that spot by the pond from my bedroom window. I saw them kissing right before Bill's wedding."

"What?!" Harry and Ginny asked together.

This was not at all going the way that they had anticipated. Waiting until the whole family got together over their two-week break from school had been a little difficult the first few days because they had desperately wanted to sneak into each other's rooms but thought it best not to tempt fate before their big reveal.

Christmas dinner was when the whole family was going to be at the Burrow and they had both been entirely wracked with nerves and barely able to eat a bite of it. It turned out that they had nothing to worry about though.

Hermione may have only caught on once they were back at school together, but the rest of the Weasley clan seemed to have noticed and been discussing it among themselves for months.

"You saw that!?" Ginny asked loudly.

"That was the first time I kissed her," Harry stated dumbfounded.

"I didn't even know how I felt about it then," Ginny said.

"Well, from the way you were snogging him back I'd say that your hormones knew you liked him just fine," her dad chimed in.

"You saw too?!" Harry had a slightly horrified look on his face now.

"For me et was when everyone come back after de war," Fleur stated, giving a rub to her swollen belly. "De way 'o look at each ozzer, it es clear."

"I only noticed after she pointed it out," Bill shrugged.

"Fred and I found the letter Harry sent her," George said taking a swig from his glass.

"WHAT?!" Ginny screamed. "That was personal! Why were you going through my things?"

George gave a shrug, "I'm a big brother, it's what we do."

Ginny's face blew up with rage at George then, but Harry took her hand and rested his forehead in the crook of her neck, vibrating slightly with humor. That calmed her down. "I can't believe them," she whispered to him.

Harry pulled his head up and smiled at her, "but their all okay with it. That's all that matters." He leaned forward and gave her a kiss.

"Yeah," she sighed and gave him a kiss back. "Guess we don't have to be so careful anymore."

Harry leaned towards her again to whisper in her ear, "actually, now we have to be even more _careful._"

Ginny managed to resist giving a groan, because she realized he was right. They'd all be wanting the chance to catch them in the act of something or other now. No doubt they wouldn't be able to stop themselves from bursting into either of their rooms at any given opportunity.

But they were all fine with it, and that was what mattered.

()()()


	30. Catfish- The After

**Request from a Guest Reader- 'Can we see the continuation of Chapter 10 (Catfish), Harry surprised Ginny after one of her games, without knowing about her lack of experience, ends up taking her virginity.'**

**Why yes, Guest Reader, yes you can.**

()()()

**Catfish- The after**

()()()

Ginny couldn't help humming to herself happily. She didn't even realize she was doing it until someone nudged her or made light-hearted fun of her for it. She was just in a really good mood. Her work with the Harpy's was rewarding, her flat mates had been less slovenly lately, and now she had a boyfriend!

The last thing she had expected to happen when she went out for dinner alone two weeks ago was to come out of the pub after spending 'quality time' with a guy like Harry in the storeroom. She'd been feeling a blush come to her face every time she thought about it, and it was a pleased blush, not an 'I-can't-believe-I-let-that-happen' blush.

It was entirely unlike her to have suggested to someone she had only just met to stick his hand down her trousers. She wasn't that kind of girl. The five or so drinks she had before were to blame on that, but she didn't regret it. Certainly not after how things had been going between them.

Now she and Harry had met up for a few evenings together and they'd passed the time in much the same way. _He_ was even the one to first call himself her boyfriend, and it had just slipped out of his mouth so casually. She didn't have to ask if that's what he was wanting out of this relationship between them, he'd just gone ahead and labelled it.

That was a lovely feeling as well.

Her last … suitor?... the last guy she had been seeing she had thought that they were headed somewhere, each taking the steps towards being properly labelled, but that hadn't turned out to be the case. He'd basically been using her to bide his time until someone else came along. Due to that Ginny hadn't really been looking for something serious.

But then comes along Harry Potter.

He'd been so cute and bumbling at the pub, she couldn't help finding that instantly endearing. He hadn't come across as one putting on an act or being potentially dangerous in any way, finding out that they were linked remotely through Tonks and Remus had helped ease her mind as well.

It also helped that he was one hell of a kisser.

To think he'd been sent there to see Susan Bones. She didn't know Susan very well, never having interacted with her in school, but she knew from hearsay Susan was a pleasant and polite person. That didn't stop Ginny from thinking Susan could suck it because Harry was hers now!

Ginny chuckled to herself over it as she put her Quidditch gear away. Harry said he would be swinging by after she finished up practice so they could go out again, apparently he had the option of finishing up early on Fridays, and she certainly wasn't going to turn down that offer. She was in a rush to get out of the change room and meet up with him.

"Someone's in a hurry," called out Janette, another reserve Chaser, from two lockers over and waggling her eyebrows at Ginny.

"Got a hot date there, Weasley?" Marie, another reserve Chaser asked her from the other side of the bench.

"I do!" Ginny told them proudly. "His name's Harry and he's probably waiting for me." She couldn't help the smile on her face nor the excited shimmy of her shoulders. It was exhilarating to have someone again. Her last proper 'someone' was a few years ago when she was in school and at that point she wasn't looking long term, she knew that relationship wasn't going to leave the confines of Hogwarts. There was no comparison between the two relationships though. Yes, this one was still in the beginning stages, but she had never been this giddy about someone before.

"Oh la la," Janette teased her. "Tell us about him."

"He's tall, dark and handsome," Ginny added a little swoon for dramatic effect. "He's a potions assistant and he's sweet and his kisses are a dream." She was gushing and sighing and completely making a fool of herself, but she was too jazzed to contain herself. "We've been seeing each other for two weeks."

"Why are we just hearing about him now?" Marie asked.

"Oh, it's hardly been going on long enough for you to get mad at me about that," Ginny dismissed.

"Oh yeah? How's the sex?" Janette asked.

Ginny blushed hard at that. "We haven't yet," she admitted shyly.

"What are you waiting for?" Marie gave her an incredulous look. "You aren't aloud to gush about your mister to us if you don't know how he is at getting you off!"

"Oh, he's gotten me off," she assured her with a wry look on her face. "And it was fantastic. Pretty sure if he can manage it in a dingy pub store room he's bound to have amazing skills in the bedroom."

That elicited several catcalls and hoots from her teammates.

Ginny hadn't been able to stop herself thinking about that. She may have talked a big game, but she was actually rather innocent. She'd only had a bit of experience that went beyond snogging and heavy petting. What she'd done with Harry she had only done with her Hogwarts boyfriend a few times, and she'd only returned the favor with said previous boyfriend twice. She still had yet to return the favor by using her hand for Harry.

But she felt she was ready for more, even though they had essentially just met. The feeling of readiness was more due to the fact that she was a twenty-year-old virgin. She didn't think of herself as a prude but compared to most she supposed she was.

She simply hadn't been ready with her last boyfriend. She was now and already she could tell she liked Harry more than she'd liked anyone.

After Ginny finished up in the shower she pulled on her clothes and headed out of the changeroom with Marie, finding Harry was standing against the wall waiting for her. He was giving her the same slightly dopey and enamored look that he did every time they had met up and they first saw each other. It was like he was surprised that she had shown up each time.

"Harry!" she beamed and rushed over to him, dropping her bag at his feet and wrapping her arms around him, giving him a kiss hello.

"So, this is your man then?" Marie said loudly, interjecting herself between them. "Hi Harry, I hear you've got talented fingers."

"MARIE!" Ginny yelled in shock her face turning bright red.

Harry's mouth dropped open a bit and he could only stammer back at Ginny's brazened teammate in response.

"What?" Marie asked with a disconcerted shrug and a smirk. "I've got to go dears, nice to meet you Harry."

"She, seems nice," Harry said shyly.

Ginny didn't know whether to try and laugh it off or own up to it. "I'm so sorry about that."

"Yeah, actually, I've been here a bit, and well. Your voices sort of carry from the locker room," he admitted, looking a mix between embarrassed and pleased with himself.

Ginny could only stare at him as she realized what he meant. He heard her talking about him to everyone. "Oh," she managed in a high-pitched tone. "Well," she gave a swallow, "I mean, you knew I liked you, right?"

That seemed to be enough to get him to relax his stance against her, which caused her to mirror his relaxation. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss, hoping it would help them move past the embarrassment they were feeling.

He had no trouble meeting her enthusiasm, their kiss grew heated as she pressed him back against the wall and made sure she was giving it her all to take his mind off of anything but how good they were at this.

"Um," Ginny pulled away, feeling slightly breathless, "we don't have to be anywhere right now, do we?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, leaning back down to keep kissing her.

"We don't have anyone waiting for us, or a reservation or anything?" she asked, pulling back again and looking around to see that the rest of her teammates and any other staff had left the area. Ginny had just been thinking about their time spent in that store room two weeks ago and knew for a fact that there were these long mats in the storage room close to where they were standing.

"No, no reservation," he was giving her a curious look.

"Wonderful, come with me," she grinned and pulled him by the hand, trying to entice him to blindly follow her with the sway of her hips and expression in her eyes.

He really didn't need much convincing though.

She pulled her wand and unlocked the storeroom door, tugging Harry in behind her and locking the door again. "I thought it might be fun to recreate the ending of our first date," she purred at him, pressing herself up against him once more.

"I, we, I could do that," he managed to get out, that adorable awed smile coming to his face again.

She liked how flustered he would get sometimes, for some reason it just made her feel so safe with him. It was probably what made her let her guard down around him. She had grown up surrounded by pig-headed men who were constantly making her feel like she had to work harder at everything to prove herself. Harry though, he was sweet and bumbling, yet smart and quick witted. It was really just the relationship part that he would go bashful over, and it was so cute.

The practice mats were stacked nicely behind them and she gave Harry a deep kiss before walking them backwards and climbing up on them, laying back and resting on her elbows, arching an eyebrow at him in invitation.

Harry looked like he was in some kind of a trance before he scrambled to follow her onto the mats. She cast one last spell to muffle any sound they made before his lips were on hers again.

This was the most intimate position they'd been in, he was laying between her legs as their mouths met. At first the two of them were smiling over how naughty they were being and their kisses were interrupted with her excited giggles, slowly though the laughter subsided and they simply melted against each other.

After their first meeting in the pub their dates had usually ended up with them in some sort of heated embrace. Starting off their dates this way felt like a fantastic idea as well.

His body pressed down on top of her wasn't funny at all anymore, it was hot and rubbing all the right places. The excitement behind the location dissipated and soon it was just the heat left between them. His hand started inching up her side until he had his full hand cover her breast. She arched her back so he could get a proper handful of her and she wrapped her legs around him, increasing the friction that was growing there.

As they moved together his lips left hers and trailed down her neck. "Can I?" he asked, moving his hand from her breast down to her leg.

Was she ever glad she was wearing a skirt.

"Yes," she nodded eagerly, he had got her good and worked up now. She remembered that she had wanted to return the favor though and her fingers went for his belt. "Can't have just me enjoying this though, can we?" she said saucily and pulled his belt loose, her fingers now undoing the button there and pulling down the zip.

"Gin-" he didn't manage the rest of her name once her hand had dove into his pants, boldly grasping hold of him. Instead of finishing her name it turned into a groan of pleasure.

It was a slightly awkward position; grasping him while he had one arm touching her and the other trying to keep him from crushing her completely.

As they touched each other the movements were making her skirt ride higher, and his trousers and pants sink lower down his legs. Their bodies too moved closer together until their hands weren't involved at all, they were simply grinding against each other, his bare manhood riding along her knicker covered clit.

Their lips found each other again, tongues dancing together as their movements became determined. Like it had last time, his hand snaked around behind her. Ginny let out a very appreciative moan when his fingers wrapped tightly under her thigh and pressed against her entrance.

Her head rolled back against the mat and she pushed her body to rock downwards and increase the pressure of his fingers there.

His mouth fastened to her neck and she bit her lip as he moved his fingers under her knickers and they dove inside her. Her own fingers came up to clutch at the back of his shirt.

"Yes," she moaned, the thoughts in her head no longer making sense, all she knew was that she was chasing her orgasm. "Do it," she panted out, not knowing at all what she was saying.

Then, quick as a flash, the pressure of his fingers inside her was replaced with another, much larger, pressure.

Her eyes went wide and she drew in a large gasp. There was a shock of pain that followed the pressure, but it didn't last.

He was properly inside her now. They were actually having sex! She felt so … full.

Harry must not have realized what he had just done. The sex part yes, the taking her virginity part, no. Because he was groaning with pleasure from being inside her and hadn't noticed how she had tensed up slightly as she adjusted to the sheer size of him.

It didn't take long for her shock to wear off and the incredible sensations that having his thick, hard dick inside her take over. Soon she was moaning and rocking back against him as good as he was giving it to her, slowing him down a bit so she could enjoy the feeling of him sliding in and out of her, grinding up against him when he was fully sheathed.

Bouts of muttered profanity were leaving both of their mouths as their pleasure mounted. Harry was the first to gasp out his finish, but Ginny was so close.

"Keep going! Please," she begged, nearly crying with desperation.

And he did. It wasn't quite the same sensation as it had been, but just a few seconds more and she was crying out her own finish loudly.

Harry collapsed down on top of her, she herself was feeling completely tapped of energy. Her brain was all fuzzy in a post coital haze, but in her first moment of clarity she cast her hand out and fumbled around for her wand, finding it and casting the charm on herself quickly.

"Right," Harry said quietly in her ear, "charm."

As she caught her breath she cast another charm, this time it was a cleaning one. They both shivered at the slight cooling sensation that it caused where they were still joined.

Harry pulled his weight up onto his elbows and moved his lower half down so he would slide out of her. He held himself there and Ginny opened her eyes to look up at him. His expression held a look of wonder and satisfaction.

Ginny felt her whole body go warm and a smile come to her face from the way he was looking at her.

"That was amazing," he whispered.

"It was," she whispered back.

"I never anticipated it would be in a Quidditch Stadium storage room," he chuckled lightly before giving her a sweet kiss.

"Nor had I." She didn't feel any regret about what had just happened. They had simply gotten carried away, and she had heard a few stories from her friends about their first times and knew she had been rather lucky that she'd actually gotten off from it.

It had been sudden, but it hadn't hurt as much as she had thought it would. She recovered from the pain quickly anyhow.

And he hadn't even needed to remove her knickers. That had her chuckling a bit.

He rolled to the side of the mat's, resting his back against the wall and pulling up his pants and trousers. Ginny shifted her skirt down and they simply lay there, smiling at each other.

"I'm so sleepy now," he told her happily as he pulled her in to cuddle against him.

She hummed in agreement. "I'll need food shortly though."

"Shortly," he agreed as they both closed their eyes for a little while longer and enjoy their relaxed states for a bit longer.

()()()

**Three years later**

()()()

"Come on Ginny. A game of Firsts is basically a must at bachelorette parties. You can't turn it down just because you are doing a combined bachelor/bachelorette party!" Angelina coaxed drunkenly.

"Even I had to do it at mine," Hermione pointed out with a slight slur. The emphasis on that being due to how she had a much more 'proper' way about her than Ginny did.

These two were fairly intoxicated; given that the party was already in full swing this was a good thing. Ginny herself was feeling the several shots that had been forced upon her over the last three hours.

"Fine!" Ginny rolled her eyes. "But what ever our answers are, you aren't allowed to take the mickey. Understood?" she pointed a threatening finger in their faces.

Truthfully, Ginny had a lot of fun learning the answers to her sister-in-laws 'first experience' game at their parties, she really shouldn't deny them the same fun, and one or two more drinks in her and she couldn't imagine she would care. Plus, added benefit of her soon-to-be husband being a wiz with potions was that he could make them all forget if they _really_ wanted to.

The two girls gave squeals of delight and Ginny broke away from them to find Harry, who was talking to George in the backyard to tell him what was about to happen. She hadn't managed to get her forewarning out about the game they were going to be forced to play when Angelina climbed onto a chair and called for everyone's attention.

"Oh brother," Ginny sighed.

"What's going on?" Harry asked her.

"We're about to be very embarrassed," she told him dryly.

"Well, it is tradition, is it not?" he asked, clearly thinking this was just about to be some speeches or something.

"Attention everyone!" Angelina shouted. "If you could all gather 'round. We are going to play a little game you should all be familiar with. THE GAME OF FIRSTS!"

"Oh no," Harry said under his breath.

'Oh no' indeed, Ginny thought. In all their years together this was still something that they hadn't talked about together. He hadn't brought it up, so neither had she. They were both just in their twenties when they met, it was simply assumed that they had a past. She didn't want to know about who he'd been with, and she wasn't eager to share that information with him either. They had simply known that each other had a past, that was it.

"Can I have the first question for the lovely bride or groom?" Angelina asked the crowd.

"FIRST KISS!" shouted a voice from the back. It sounded suspiciously like her first boyfriend, Dean Thomas, who was now simply a good friend and happily married.

"Alright. First kiss. Harry?" Angelina asked.

"Err, that would have been Megan Fernandez," he said awkwardly. "I was sixteen, we met at the beach, nothing came of it."

"Okay Ginny, he was sixteen, and you?"

"Fourteen, Michael Corner, under the mistletoe. We went on one date and that was it," Ginny told them easily.

"FIRST OVER THE CLOTHES," called out Matthew Bryant, one of Harry's friends from work.

"First over the clothes! Yes, Ginny, you first," Angelina said.

Ginny cringed, there was no way that her brothers would want to hear this. "It, um, urgh. Sixteen, Dean Thomas, boys dorms in Gryffindor," she let out reluctantly.

A cat call came from the back of the crowd, no doubt aimed at Dean more than at her.

"And Harry," Angelina beamed at him.

Ginny turned to look at her groom. He was very red in the face and looked more reluctant that she had to give his answer. "I, um," he started, dragging his response out. "It was in the storeroom of a pub," he said awkwardly and finally caught Ginny's eye.

Her jaw dropped.

It was her?

She was his first over the clothes experience?

But then, that meant that…

"The bride and groom to be need a minute," she announced loudly and grabbed his hand, pulling him back into the house, up to her old bedroom for some privacy.

"It was me?!" She asked incredulously once they were alone. "I was your first?"

"I, um, see, it's kind of funny how we never brought it up," he gave a half-hearted laugh, it not lasting past two chuckles before he was simply swallowing his tongue and waiting for her reaction.

"But, so. Then in the _other_ storeroom two weeks later," she intimated.

"Yeah," he admitted bashfully. "That was my first time."

She couldn't believe it! "Harry," she stepped forward and put her arms around his neck. "That was my first time too."

"What?" he asked dumbly, searching her eyes for any sign of deceit. "That was, then I took your…"

"We were each other's firsts," Ginny had a bubble of laughter escape her, and unable to stop more from coming out.

Harry started laughing as well. "I can't believe it! But... I remember you telling me to do it?"

Ginny just shook her head slightly. "I don't really remember what I might have said. Just that I was pretty keen in the moment and next thing I knew we were properly shagging. I didn't want to tell you I had been a virgin in case you were going to start apologizing or something." It would have been completely like him to do that, and it had been a really enjoyable experience, so he had nothing to feel bad about. Telling him would have just tarnished the memory of it.

"I can't believe we both lost our virginity in a Quidditch Storage room," Harry said in amazement. "To each other."

Ginny's smile widened and she pulled him closer to her, "I've no regrets."

Harry wrapped his own arms tighter around her waist, "none whatsoever."

()()()


	31. Cat Person

**AN- AU- Harry isn't close friends with Ron but is still in Gryffindor and notices Ginny is a girl early on in his Hogwarts life. No YKW (You-Know-Who). **

**()()()**

**Cat Person**

**()()()**

It started in detention.

Funny how something that was supposed to be a punishment was going to turn out to be a major moment in his life; and it had nothing to do with 'learning his lesson'. Detentions never stopped Harry from making trouble, they were simply part of his weekly schedule. He did have his father's reputation to uphold after all.

He'd been thrilled to find out he was holding this particular detention with Ginny Weasley. She was in the year below him, on the Quidditch team with him and was genuinely an all-around great person to be around. And attractive. He would have had to be blind not to notice how attractive she was. Her good-natured and strong personality that just made her all the more appealing.

His little crush on her had grown exponentially over the last year. Somehow he just hadn't noticed her properly before his sixth year. He knew who she was and had joked around with her a few times, but then at some point early on in his sixth year he just saw him in a whole new light and it hit him like a truck how much he fancied her.

For some reason the 'out to prove herself' behavior on Ginny was much easier to take than it was on her closest in age brother, his dormmate, Ron. Probably because she always had a smile on her face where Ron always had a hint of jealousy.

Ron was an alright bloke, but he was lazy and quick to get offended. Harry didn't _not_ like him. It was just that there had always been this animosity between he and Ron, stemming from Ron's side. From day one on the Hogwarts Express it was like Ron found out Harry's surname and automatically assumed Harry thought he was better than him.

That wasn't the case at all, but Ron kept giving him that vibe.

It wasn't like Harry was strutting around the castle like that ponce Malfoy or anything. He just happened to have new clothes at the start of every year and get nice things from his family for birthdays and Christmas. Ron always made a comment about Harry's new things, more so than the others in their dorm that also had nice things, but didn't have a noble title, well, Neville had both, but he was a bit of a bumbling fool, so Ron didn't hold him in the same regard.

Ginny wasn't like that. And the Twin's hadn't been like that either, that's why Harry got on so well with them when they were at school; that and the fact that Harry knew their idols, the Marauders. Harry had overheard them mentioning something about the Marauders Map in his first year and they had been friends ever since.

That also didn't help Ron like him.

This detention he had with Ginny though, once he'd realized it was going to be just the two of them he knew he had act. He'd missed out on enough chances last year when she was between suitors, this detention at the start of his seventh was affording him the perfect opportunity to act on it.

They were stuck in Flitwick's Charms class scraping gum from under the tables and sanding them down before applying a coat of varnish. All tasks that had been set upon both of them before at different intervals. How there was already this much gum under the desks this early in the year was a bit of a head scratcher, Harry sort of suspected that the teachers put it there themselves just to have the punishment to dole out.

That or Peeves did it.

Flitwick wasn't actively supervising, so Harry and she had the chance to chat about their summers and he didn't have anyone noticing just how much he was admiring her bum while she was bent over sanding down the tables.

They'd carried on plenty of conversations before, but one or both of them had always been dating someone else at the time. Ginny had always been a little intimidating as well. It probably came from having so many big brothers that she'd tried to hide any weaknesses from, but she had a hell of a sharp tongue on her and quick wit to compensate for any part of her that couldn't physically keep up with them.

Harry was really keen on getting the chance with her, and he had been going about it the best he could trying to build her interest in him all throughout the detention. He'd never been able to get a proper read on whether she liked him that way.

He had this checklist for getting dates that he'd developed through some helpful hints from his more experienced friends and uncles;

1\. Get her laughing

2\. Make sure she knows you're interested

3\. Find out something the two of you have in common

4\. Get her to share a secret. Any secret

5\. Ask her out

Well, he'd got her laughing plenty of times and they had Quidditch and a love of mischief in common. He needed to make sure she knew he was interested and get a secret from her though, then he'd be gold.

"Stop staring at my arse, Harry," Ginny called him out, looking over her shoulder and seeing where his eyes had been focused.

"It was looking at me first," he told her in excuse. It didn't matter to him that she caught him looking, at least now she knew for sure he was interested.

"No need to encourage it then, I'll give it a talking to later about manners," she told him flippantly and continued about her task.

Not the reaction he was hoping for, but humorous all the same.

Perhaps he could skip over the secret part for this one and just get to the point. Girls like her didn't stay single for long. She'd probably already been asked out since they got back, and the term had only started two weeks ago.

"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" he got straight to the point. What was the worst that could happen really? She says 'no'? So, what. His dad asked his mum out 173 times when they were in school together before she said yes, Uncle Sirius had kept track, now they'd been married for half their lives.

Ginny stood up and turned around with a surprised expression. "Did you just-?" she asked, like she hadn't heard him correctly.

"Yeah," he told her. "I like you. You're funny, pretty, smart and a wicked Quidditch player. I wanted to put my bid it to spend time with you before anyone else this year."

He had not been this smooth about asking a girl out the first time he'd attempted it, or the second. But he'd gone on a few dates in his life now, and while he wasn't a Cassanova, he wasn't bashful about making his interests known anymore.

Ginny considered him for a moment.

"Come on," he gave her a cheeky grin. "I've seen you checking me out before. Give me a shot, what's the worst that could happen?"

She raised her eyebrow at him. "What's the worst that could happen you ask? You mean like what have I got to lose, besides my reputation, by being one of the many?"

"One of the many what?" he asked, slightly confused. "I'm not exactly a Lothario or something."

"On your way to it," she told him pointedly. "You've gotten around, and I understand the appeal of you, but I don't need to be just another name on your list."

With no more explanation she turned back around and kept working at her table.

"Hey," he tried to get her attention back on him. It wasn't that he was thoroughly offended or anything, but she could at least give him a chance to prove her wrong. He came around to stand on the other side of the table she was working on. "You wouldn't just be someone on a 'list', I really do think we would hit it off. We've got enough in common."

"What, like Quidditch?" she asked.

Harry shrugged, "to start with."

She smiled and shook her head and kept sanding. "Harry, you're a nice guy, fun and, yeah, attractive. But you're not one to take relationships seriously. I've seen you with other girls."

"So, you're worried I'd break your heart or something," he asked her skeptically. "I'd have to have it first in order to break it, and _you_ aren't exactly one to wear it on your sleeve."

She stood up again and her eyebrows knit together. "I think you're trying to be convincing, but you aren't doing a very good job of it."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I'm not saying you're heartless or anything. I'm just saying you haven't seemed too broken up about your previous break-ups. Me having been the same way about my previous break-ups is hardly an indication that we couldn't make something work. In fact, it probably means that we'd be better together; I won't be a chauvinistic pig like that last guy you dated, and you won't turn on the waterworks when I fail to save you the last blueberry muffin."

The blueberry muffin incident had been what happened when he made the mistake of dating Lavender Brown. The girl was insipid, but she was interested in him, and she had nice breasts.

He could admit it, he was a bit of a pig with that one.

Ginny chewed her lip, considering what he'd said. "I'm not sure," she said finally.

He felt promise with that answer. It wasn't a no. None of what she had said to him had been a 'no', it was merely comments on his previous behavior.

Harry stepped closer to her and took her hands in his own. "How can I turn that into a yes?" he asked sincerely. He watched the expression on her face shift as her concerns started to mean less to her. She was caving.

"I just don't like being a part of the gossip around this school," she said, her voice soft as he stepped slightly closer.

"What can I say? My public adores me," he grinned, and leaned down for a kiss.

She pulled away from him then and took her hands out of his. "You're such a cocky little shit, aren't you?" She didn't sound angry with him though, just shook her head with a smile and started back up doing her task.

"Come on, it was a joke," he defended, unable to help the laugh that escaped him. "Look we can start out keeping it quiet if you want. We don't have to announce to the whole school during a Hogsmeade trip or something that we're spending time together."

She still said nothing but he could tell she was mulling it over.

"Give me a chance and I think you'll find out we're perfect together," he told her in a low voice, leaning down over her.

Her big beautiful brown eyes looked up at him from where she was scrubbing the table with a wry expression. "Help me finish with these tables and I'll think about it," she told him and gutted her thumb to the other side of the classroom.

()()()

Ginny thought about it, and she kept on thinking about it.

Harry Potter was a great guy, a friendly, funny, and attractive guy too. But she hadn't seen any indication that he would make a decent boyfriend.

It didn't matter that she wouldn't mind the opportunity to snog him. From what she'd heard he was no slouch in that category. None of the gossip about him mentioned that he was anything less than a gentleman too. And she'd kept her ears open about it, because she'd always been a little interested in him.

Well, a lot interested in him.

She just didn't think that he would be truly interested in her the way she wanted him to be and had convinced herself she was fine with that. Resigned herself to tucking that little fantasy of being with him in the back of her mind to pull out for daydreams in History of Magic class.

That's why she was so surprised to hear him ask her out last night.

She'd always dated the guys that were less confident than she. The one's that, conceded as it sounded, were reaching, and sort of treated her adoringly.

But that was getting boring. None of her past paramours had been able to hold her interest past the excitement of a new relationship.

She hadn't let Harry kiss her last night. Not in detention and not when they'd gotten back to Gryffindor and said goodnight at the stairs to their separate dorms, even though it looked like he wanted to.

All day though she'd been thinking about how nice it might have been.

It was what she'd been thinking about instead of doing her Transfiguration assignment in the library when the seventh years started coming in and she heard Ron getting into a verbal spat with Malfoy again.

Her brother just did not know when to quit with that guy. Malfoy was a wuss, but he knew how to get Ron riled up enough to have Ron overreact and get himself in trouble.

How they got to discussing her, she didn't know, but she was damn sure going to shut it down.

"Yeah, well you might want to keep a better eye on that slut of a sister of yours then," Malfoy sneered as they approached the table Ginny was at.

"Is that so?" Ginny piped up from behind him, resting casually in her chair, arm propped over the back of her seat and body half turned towards him. The nonchalance came naturally to her after years of exemplifying the twins.

Malfoy's eyes widened slightly at the sight of her there, having overheard him. Clearly, he'd merely been trying to rattle Ron and hadn't anticipated confrontation from another side.

"Sounds like that might be wishful thinking there, Malfoy," she raked her eyes over him. "Personality aside I'd say you aren't a terrible looking bloke, but the way you strut around and carry yourself I can only imagine you're as selfish in bed as you are everywhere else. I've no interest in that."

Malfoy's pale face took on a slightly pink twinge as those in the library around him that heard her started snickering under their breath.

"Shows what you know," he started.

"You're right," she cut in. "I really don't have first-hand knowledge of sex, contrary to what you've just broadcasted flagrantly a moment ago. But I guarantee you, when I start looking for some experience on the subject, I will _not_ be coming to _you_ to learn it."

"I wouldn't want you," he said, his eyes betraying him and giving her a not too subtle looking over before puffing out his chest importantly. "And I'll have you know that I've plenty of experience. Not a one of my partners had any complaints."

Ginny snorted, "is that so? Give us some references then? Who are these partners exactly? Let's see what they have to say about it."

Even Ron was now grinning from Ginny taking on Malfoy. Malfoy wasn't looking so sure of himself anymore.

"Parkinson maybe?" Ginny provided. "Didn't you two go out? Go find her, we can settle this right now."

Malfoy's nostrils flared, but he didn't answer her, he just snarled before he turned and walked away.

Ron gave a laugh and settled down to sit at her table. "Thanks. I hate that I can't manage to one up that guy."

"Then why do you try?" she asked. "Just ignore him."

"Yeah, that's what Hermione says too." Ron shrugged before he started in talking about his girlfriend and the interaction with Malfoy that led to Ginny stepping in, but she wasn't paying attention.

Harry had come into the library as well, and he was in the next aisle over from her table, right at the end, in her line of sight, and he was looking at her. He didn't have his usual laisse-faire expression either, his eyes were searching, asking her if she'd made up her mind. His lips were set together, a slight twitch to the side, not in a smirk, but almost as though he was worried about what she'd decided, if she'd decided.

His gorgeous green eyes were imploring her to give him a chance.

She felt special getting his attention like this. The way he was looking at her was making her feel warm and slightly jittery. Her breath was growing deeper simply looking at him. Ginny couldn't stop herself from answering him.

Slightly, subtly, she nodded.

His miniscule flash of a smile told her he understood, and then he was gone.

Ginny sat there trying to collect herself for a minute. She'd just agreed to go out with Harry Potter.

Ron was still prattling away about the same thing he was three minutes ago and in that span of time she was now no longer single but seeing his dormmate and Quidditch Captain.

This was probably going to turn out to be a bad idea.

Harry was a little reckless, and she didn't know how he got away with half of the things he pulled around the school over the years, but she felt a fluttering her stomach and anticipation pumping through her veins now.

There was no way she was going to be able to concentrate on the rest of her assignment.

"You know what," she interrupted her brother, "I've been thinking over this assignment too long. I'm going to go find something else to do until dinner." With that she collected up her things and left Ron at the table by himself.

With no idea where Harry might have gone off to Ginny left the library and started slowly back towards Gryffindor Tower. She wasn't 100% sure, but he did seem the type to just jump out from nowhere and pull someone into a secluded spot.

So, she was prepared when he did just that. Rather than gasping in fright from abruptly finding herself in a dark broom cupboard Ginny chuckled and lit the end of her wand.

Harry was grinning back at her as her wand illuminated part of the space. "You'll give me a chance then?"

"Sure," she shrugged, feigning nonchalance, "why not. Every other girl has had a go," she teased.

"Why is it you seem to think I've gotten around that much?" he questioned, pulling the strap of her book bag down over her shoulder and letting it fall to the floor. "I've only properly dated four girls at this school."

"Properly dated," she repeated as his hands came to her hips. "That doesn't include all one-off dates and snog session's you've had with the others." Her palms lay flat against his chest, slinking upwards and around his neck.

"Fine, include those in too, and it still isn't into the double digits." He was inching forward towards her, not yet letting anything but their hands touch each other.

Ginny let out a fake gasp, "are you saying that _I_ might be the one to get you to that milestone?"

"Are you saying you're a perfect ten?" he quipped back.

Ginny groaned her exasperation.

Harry chuckled leaning in enough that she was pressed back against the wall gently, their bodies lightly coming together, "anything else you'd like to say?"

She bit her lip and took another long look at his dark eyes and ruggedly messy hair before leaning towards him and coming up slightly on her toes, "Nox."

()()()

Harry was nervous about how this was going to work out. He knew that the Twins had never taken that secret entrance, so it was likely that Ginny didn't know anything about it. He wanted it to be a surprise, he wanted everything about the evening to be a surprise.

After their brilliant snogging session in the closet the other day he realized that she wasn't going to get to know him properly if that was all they got up to. Getting her somewhere that they could have an actual date would be a good way to make her open up more and see that he wasn't just the player she'd been concerned he was.

He didn't know her too well yet either, so showing her his invisibility cloak on their first date was a huge leap of faith. But he was sure they'd get on perfectly, there was just something about her that felt right. And he had set up the perfect plan for getting them the opportunity to make sure she saw that they were right as well.

He'd slipped her a note after their practice yesterday asking her to meet him outside by the entrance hall at eight the next night. Now she was standing off to the side by one of the suits of armor as he snuck up on her under his cloak. Ginny must have heard him approaching, because she was looking in the direction he was coming from, but her brow was furrowed.

He took a moment to simply stand there and take her in. She was dressed comfortably, that was perfect for what they were going to be getting up to. It looked like she could have been ready to go to the library or curl up in front of the fire or go gallivanting through the Forbidden Forest. He couldn't remember a time when she didn't look like she was ready for anything.

Now he was getting his chance with her, and he was determined not to blow it.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when he suddenly appeared before her.

"What?" she asked, gazing down at the cloak in his arms.

"Invisibility cloak," he told her, grinning.

"No!" she gasped, her eyes were quite round as she reached out to touch it. "That's your secret?" Her grin was wide as she looked back up into his eyes.

"One of them," he told her conspiratorially as he traced his index finger down her cheek. "And you'll be learning of another tonight."

"Oh, I will, will I?" she grinned, tucking part of her bottom lip between her teeth as though trying to staunch her enthusiasm, but her eyes were a dead giveaway for her excitement.

He just gave her a wink in response and pulled his cloak back over himself, holding it up for her to get under there with her.

She gave a small giggle as she ducked underneath it in front of him. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." He guided her down the lawn and towards the Whomping Willow. "Trust me?" he asked.

"I-I guess?" The hesitation in her voice was justified. This was a tree that would attack anyone that came near it after all, and he'd gotten her with in swinging distance of the branches.

"The next time a branch swings past I want you to run straight towards the trunk," he instructed her, taking a moment to appreciate the feel of her tucked close under the cloak with him. "We'll have ten seconds to get in the secret passageway."

"The secret-" she started. But then one of the large branches had just attempted to get them and Harry pushed her forwards as the branch swung past.

They hurried forward and he got to the knot on the tree, knocking on it hard as though it were a door, and the passageway opened up. "Go, go," he ushered her and she slipped feet first down the passage. He came down behind her and folded up his cloak.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "Where does this go? How do you know about this place?"

Harry grinned. "My dad told me about it. He and his friends used it all the time when they went here. They discovered a lot of secrets while they were here." The twins knew all about his link to the Marauders, but all that knowledge clearly hadn't been passed down to Ginny.

"Really?" she asked in intrigue. "And have you managed to add to their list of secrets at all?"

Harry took her hand and began leading the way down the passage towards where he'd set up their date. "I have, but I can't give away all of my secrets in one night. You'll have to start sharing your own if you want any more out of me."

"There's not much to know about me," she shrugged.

"Doubtful," he stated. "Everyone has something that they don't want widely known and considering how you aren't wanting anyone to know that you and I are seeing each other I'd say you have more you're keeping to yourself."

He heard her sigh and knew he'd hit the nail on the head there.

"Come on. Even your brother doesn't know about my cloak and we've shared a dorm room for six years. You have to give me something," he coaxed her.

"Fine," she caved, "the only reason that I'm passing Muggle Studies is because I stole my brother Percy's essays from when he took it."

Harry stopped dead and turned to her. "What?!" He couldn't see her too well in this lighting, but he was sure that if he could he'd notice that her cheeks were red.

"It isn't that I don't like the subject," she prefaced. "But the class is _so_ boring."

"You've stolen your brother's essays? And what, you're just writing them out again and handing them in?" It wouldn't be a huge deal to him to do that, but she clearly was ashamed of it.

"Basically. Look, do you take Muggle Studies?" she asked.

"No, but my mum is Muggleborn, so I've spent plenty of time around them and even have electronics and such at my house." He continued walking down the passage while she told her tale of plagiarism.

"You probably know, but my dad works for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department at the Ministry, he's basically obsessed with them, and as interesting as I find the ways they manage to make do without magic, I just can't manage to pay attention to Professor Burbage's monotone voice in class. I'm a fan of their entertainment, I've been to the cinema, I've read plenty of good books by Muggle authors, but I really don't give a shit who invented the lightbulb.

"I was thinking about dropping the class after my third year because I was doing so poorly. My assignments were all coming back with just passing marks. I was worried about having to tell my dad that I was going to drop it, because he'd be really disappointed. Then I found Percy's assignments and realized that Burbage got her students to do the same essays every year."

"Then are you copying verbatim or using them as a guide for your own assignments?" he asked as they reached the end of the tunnel and he climbed up the ladder at the end and threw open the trap door.

"I bastardize the language a bit. Percy is way more formal then I am, so it definitely isn't verbatim. I do change up a few things, add bits here and there," she admitted, climbing up the ladder after him and looking around at the structure they were in with furrowed brows.

"Then that isn't bad. It's not like you're just turning in the same thing with your name at the top instead of his. Just taking his key points and writing your assignments around that."

"Yeah," she frowned, still looking around at the building surrounding them. "That's what I tell myself too when I'm writing them."

Harry liked that she felt bad about something small like that. He'd paid one of the Ravenclaw kids to write his History of Magic assignments more than once, at least she was still writing hers.

"Know where we are yet?" he asked.

"A decrepit old…" She sucked in a breath at her realization and her eyes went wide, "Oh! The Shrieking Shack?"

"Full marks Miss Weasley," he told her and gave her a quick kiss for her correct answer.

"There's a tunnel from the school to the Shrieking Shack?" she asked astounded. "Why? Why is it under the Whomping Willow?"

"So no one will try to use it, of course," he told her as though it was obvious.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him as she considered a question in her head. "You know something about the stories of this place too, don't you?"

Harry gave her a wink and took her hand again, leading her up the stairs to the sitting room and pulling out some candles and snacks that he'd gotten from the House Elves at the school. He levitated the battered furniture out of the way and set up a small area on the floor for them to sit on with the candles lit around them.

"Geez, giving me the good treatment, aren't you?" Ginny teased as she took up on the floor, resting her back against an old couch.

"Of course."

"Alright, so what's the story about this place?" she asked.

"There was a werewolf that started going to Hogwarts as a student. The tunnel and the Whomping Willow were put there so that he could sneak out and have a place to transform during the full moon."

"There was a werewolf that was a student?" she asked in surprise.

Harry paused, unsure if he should tell her more about it. Uncle Remus was a good family friend and it hadn't been very obvious to Harry before school how careful Remus was about letting others know of his condition. It was only after a few years in school that Harry realized some people were very bigoted against werewolves and why.

"You know, I'd never thought about that before," Ginny mused, "but it makes sense. If a wizard child was bitten, it isn't like they would have their own school to go to. I could only imagine if there was such a school it would get attacked by people with prejudice. Wouldn't it be obvious though if a student was sneaking off every full moon and was feeling like shit every time it drew close?"

"You'd be surprised what people don't notice. People are fairly self-centered," he told her.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" Ginny raised her eyebrow at him. "I haven't noticed you looking like shit at regular intervals, and I have been watching." She gave him a coy smile and picked up a piece of cheese and crackers.

"No," he chuckled, "but I do know who it was."

"Moony," she said, snapping her fingers at the realization. "He was friends with your dad, wasn't he?"

"Yes," Harry didn't think she knew who Remus Lupin was by his nickname, the twins did tell her some of the secrets of their success obviously, but she hadn't ever been the one in possession of the Marauders Map. Sirius' daughter was a second year Ravenclaw who was making a name for herself as a troublemaker as well. Harry had passed the Marauders Map on to Jamie Black last year so she could learn all the secrets of the castle, the legacy had to live on. "The stories about this place being haunted were really from the sounds of the werewolf transforming."

"Awe, that's sad," she frowned. "I've heard that their transformations can be terrible. That Wolfsbane potion that came out a few years back supposedly made a world of difference."

"My mum had a hand in that," Harry said proudly. "She started working towards becoming a Potions Master and was part of the team that worked on perfecting the recipe."

"Wow. Look at you, nearly preening over your brilliant mum."

They continued talking and sharing stories from their childhood. Harry hadn't ever felt like he missed out on much by being an only child, he always had his dad and uncles to get into trouble with, the Jamie came along when he was five and she was like a younger sister to him. But the stories that Ginny told of rough housing and midnight adventures, pranking and general troublemaking between she and her six older brothers, it sounded like a lot of fun and a lot of noise.

It was well after curfew by the time they decided to head back to Gryffindor and Harry hadn't wanted the night to end. They'd been shifting closer to each other as the night had worn on and before now he hadn't ever had this level of comfort with a girl. He didn't just want to snog her silly, he also wanted to carry on talking and laughing with her forever.

He could tell she was having the same feelings about it as well, and that made it all the more enjoyable.

()()()

Dating Harry Potter was fun. Dating him in secret was even more so.

He turned out to be incredibly thoughtful. She was surprised by some of the things he'd pulled off since they'd started going out; There were notes from him she found in her bag when she was in class, there had been a flower on her pillow one morning when she'd woken up, and he'd introduced her to the wonder that was the Room of Requirement and set up another picnic for them.

All the while they had managed to keep anyone from guessing that they'd been getting to know each other in that way.

Romantically.

Ginny couldn't help smiling to herself and feeling heat come to her face when she thought that word.

Harry was romantic though, and she loved it.

He'd also figured out her weakness and got this sexy smirk on his face every time he was about to use it on her.

The thing was, Ginny loved getting… pet.

Not in an intimate way or anything, but one night she and Harry had been snogging and his fingers were scratching gently in her hair and she hadn't been able to contain the moan she'd given at that feeling.

Scratching her hair, rubbing her ears, simply making continuous petting motions on her anywhere and she would become absolute putty in his hands. Most anyone's hands really. She'd begged her mum on more than one occasion to brush her hair as she fell asleep when she was younger.

Harry petting her had preceded some very intense snogging sessions.

There had even been one incident when she had an assignment that she was down to the wire to complete, but Harry was trying to convince her to slip away with him and he'd traced his finger up and down her _nose_ and she'd given in because it had felt so nice.

It was her secret and his secret weapon.

She didn't mind him using it against her though. After practice one day he had given a rub to her ear when everyone was walking ahead of them and she'd nearly fallen over at the wave of pleasure she got from that. It had led to them both staying late in the changeroom and him grinding against her while they snogged until they both cried out with ecstasy.

Initially she'd been unsure that she should have let them carry on to that point, but he'd been so sweet with her after and that had gotten her out of her head over whether it had been a smart move or not. It had felt right at the time.

Tonight he'd managed to sneak into her dorm room and cuddle up to her in bed, she might have told him that it was too risky, but he had put up a silencing shield around her bed and was scratching her scalp until she was literally purring against him.

"I can't believe how you react to this," he commented softly as she was curled up by his side with her head on his chest.

"You like it when I do it to you too," she pointed out, trying not to let herself drool on him.

"Yeah, it feels nice, but with you it's like you'll let me do anything so long as I keep doing it."

"Mmm, maybe I would," she said, snuggling more into his warmth.

As relaxed as she was, she knew what he was getting at. Her brain function hadn't completely worn off. She had her one leg between his, she could feel his reaction to them laying in this position. It was something she'd been thinking happy thoughts about for a while as well.

"Good thing I'm a cat person then, eh?" he said lightly, like he was trying not to sound too hopeful about what this might be leading to.

Four weeks now they had been sneaking around and she felt like she knew him fairly well now. Well enough that perhaps their hands might wander below the belt. Slowly her hand started tracing lazy circles on his stomach, swirling lower and lower to the top of his pajama bottoms.

His breath hitched when her finger-tips ran just under the elastic. "Ginny," he said quietly. "We- you don't have to."

His own fingers had stopped moving on her head and her thoughts were coming in clearer. She wanted to touch him like this. They'd been getting to know each other in so many different ways, she wanted to know him this way as well.

"Shh," she told him, her hand dipping under his bottoms properly, the back of her hand grazing up his erection. It bobbed up and down, twitching at the feel of her skin against it.

His chest was rising and falling with his breaths that were becoming erratic. With each caress he would take in two inhales before breathing out. Ginny turned her hand over and wrapped her fingers around him properly.

It was the first time she had touched one. It felt smooth and hard, but the skin around the hardness had some pliancy. And it was warm and thick.

Harry's hands came down to grip the blanket at either side of the mattress as she stroked him up and down. Ginny was biting her lip as she rubbed her thighs together while she worked him over.

The length of him, the size of him. It would probably feel amazing to have that inside of her, but they were too soon into this for her to be thinking of them taking that step. Her imagination was already taking her there though. She couldn't help imagining the two of them with just their naked flesh between them and him between her legs. It would hurt at first, but then it would be incredible.

Up and down his shaft her hand went. Licking her lips, she moved her head down his body, she might not be ready to go all the way, but she was ready for this. Lowering her head to rest lightly on his belly she stuck out her tongue and licked the tip of him that was poking out the top of his bottoms.

"Ginny," Harry panted quietly in surprise.

Feeling more confident she lowered her head a bit more and stuck the whole head of his penis in her mouth, circling her tongue around it in a steady rhythm while her hand worked.

His hips started joining in and rocking back and forth. "Gi- Ginny," he said warningly after a few minutes of the repetitive movements. "Ginny, I'm gunna."

He didn't get any more words past his lips before something warm and salty shot into her mouth in tiny spurts. Ginny swallowed down what had shot into her mouth and gave a few more swirls of her tongue to clean him off before pulling back, waiting for him to relax back against the mattress before bringing his pajama bottoms back over him.

It was the same feeling she got as the last time they'd done something intimate. The instant concern that she probably shouldn't have done what she just did. Again, it went away as Harry gently pulled her up to lay properly beside him and hugged her close.

"That felt incredible," he whispered into her hair. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she told him in a shy whisper.

He nuzzled against her forehead, encouraging her to look up at him. "I would never," he told her sincerely as he traced his fingers down the side of her face. "Ginny, I've never cared about anyone like I do for you before. I haven't told anyone about us, and I'm not going to be saying anything about what we get up to when you're finally alright with admitting we're together."

Ginny didn't know what it was she was worried about. She liked Harry. A lot. The rumor mill at Hogwarts could be vicious, but if she and he were in a committed relationship then what did it matter what people were saying?

"I trust you," she told him.

"Enough to… let me return the favor?" he asked hopefully.

Heat rose to Ginny's cheeks as she blushed in the darkness. "Yes," she said slowly. She'd fantasized about this as well.

Harry let out a disbelieving breath. "Really?"

Not trusting her voice Ginny rolled to lay back on the mattress, opening herself up to let his hands wander.

Harry rolled to his side, starting off slow, which she was grateful for as he scratched at her hairline behind her ear before rubbing her ear gently and turning her into a pile of goo before he worked his hand down, cautiously cupping at her shirt covered breasts while his lips went to her neck.

Ginny's head lolled to the side to give him better access and arched her back at the feel of his hand sliding down her stomach and to the top of her sleep shorts.

Her thighs fell apart further the closer his hand got to its mark, but Harry hesitated. Ginny was too wanton to wait much longer. The anticipation was torturing her. Placing a hand over top his she guided it below the fabric and between her folds.

Harry gave a groan at feeling her there. "So warm," he murmured in amazement. His fingers slid over and around her clit and entrance, not staying in one spot.

Ginny's brow furrowed, he didn't seem to know what to focus on.

She let him fumble around a bit more before she simply placed her hand over top of his once more and directed his fingers to where they needed to go.

"Like that," she whispered as his fingers circled around and around her clit in steady and sure movements.

Eventually she moved her hand away, tucking it under her pillow to grip there as she let the wonderful feelings Harry was giving her pass over her body. This was definitely the best way to get petted.

His fingers fumbled again as he moved his way down her body.

Ginny couldn't help how deep her breaths were getting as she realized that he really was intending to repay the favor.

She didn't know if she was quite ready to bear it all in front of him, but as he shifted his body down hers she understood that he had no intention of removing her shorts. She was looking down at him and he up at her, locking eyes as he pulled her bit of fabric between her legs to the side, finding her special spot with his fingers once more and then replacing them with his tongue.

Her head fell back against the pillow at this new sensation against her.

His tongue was making the same movement against her clit as his fingers had been doing but somehow it felt a million times better.

And then his fingers joined into the mix again and she let out a pleasured gasp.

His fingers were there at her entrance, gently gliding inside her bit by bit in small movements, movements that grew more pronounced due to her hips rocking back and forth of their own accord.

Never before had she felt so incredible.

All thought flew from her head while the sensations inside her simply grew and she fell into a blissful state of being both incredibly aroused and still searching for a magnificent climax that was surely to wash over her body soon.

Wave after wave of eye rolling pleasure washed over her as his tongue continued on its mission.

Then there it was, that feeling that was telling her soon she was going to be crying out. His tongue was making those perfect circular motions and his two fingers were inside her and she felt herself become frenzied as she rocked against his mouth and fingers while her climax grew closer and closer until it finally broke her apart.

Ginny couldn't have stopped herself from crying out her finish for anything.

Never before had she managed to bring herself to such a magnificent climax.

Did everyone else know just how incredible oral sex was?

She relaxed back against the pillow and tried to collect herself. "That. That," she tried to tell him just how much she enjoyed it, but words were too much work.

Harry straightened out her sleep shorts and came back to lay beside her. "I quite enjoyed that too," he admitted softly, giving her a kiss to her forehead and adjusting them so they could lay comfortably beside each other.

Ginny could feel that he was hard again, but she could barely bring herself to move, let alone take care of him once more just then.

As she lay there attempting to regain her composure she soon found out that he had no expectations for her to try and take care of him, as he had begun snoring softly.

She grinned widely as she heard him sleeping. Her last conscious thought was to set her tempus alarm to go off around five a.m. so he could sneak back to his dorm unnoticed.

()()()

It was clear to Ginny after that night that she didn't want to keep their relationship a secret anymore. Harry had been so patient with her, but they were taking things to the next level now and it was time to stop hiding.

And the first Hogsmeade Weekend was coming up.

With her decision made she walked into the Great Hall for breakfast and saw Harry sitting with Seamus Finnigan at the far end of the table so she headed straight for them, feeling confident.

He started when she sat down beside him and started loading up her plate.

"Hi Ginny," Harry greeted her pleasantly, his eyes narrowed slightly in an effort to find out what she was getting up to.

"Hi Harry, Seamus," she nodded across the table.

"Weaslette," Seamus nodded.

Ginny gave him a good-natured growl at that name for her. "Do we have a practice next Saturday?" Ginny asked Harry casually.

"No, it's Hogsmeade weekend," he told her easily and kept eating his breakfast.

"Is it really?" she pressed. "Huh. Planning on going then?"

"Think someone might be fishing for an invitation," Seamus grinned at his friends from across the table.

Harry raised his eyebrows at Seamus in interest. "Do you? Think she's looking for one from me or you?"

"You're the one that knows her better, but I certainly wouldn't mind a shot," Seamus waggled his eyebrows at her.

"What do you imagine a Hogsmeade trip with our Miss Weasley here would entail exactly?" Harry pretended to think it over.

"She's more of a 'winging it' type, don't you think?" Seamus pondered. "Well, Miss Weasley, which of us is it?"

Ginny turned her eyes to the transparent ceiling. He had been caring and romantic with her when they were alone together, but why on earth did she think that would translate to him jumping at her laying the groundwork for him to ask her out in public?

"Trying to clue you in actually," Ginny told Seamus. "Romilda has been hoping you'd ask her. Think you should get on that," she pointed down the table to her dorm mate that was making eyes at Seamus.

"Oh, cheers for that," Seamus said happily and picked up his bag to move down the table.

"Well, that's taken care of," Ginny made to stand. "Enjoy your breakfast."

Harry caught her hand and gave a tug so she would sit back down. "Did I just fail a test or something?" he asked her patronizing and teasing tone.

"No," she said too quickly.

Harry just gave her a look that said he didn't believe her.

"Fine," she admitted. "I thought things had been going well between us and wondered if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade together."

"Of course, I do, but what was that about?" he asked, gesturing down to Seamus who now had Romilda Vane hanging off him.

Ginny bit her lip, feeling a little ashamed. "I," she started quietly and picked up her juice, "might have had that playing out a bit differently in my head," she muttered into the glass.

"Was I supposed to get down on bended knee or something," he teased her as he pulled her slightly closer towards him on the bench.

"No," she rolled her eyes again.

"Drop what I was doing and snog you in front of the whole school?" he continued guessing at her fantasized scenarios.

Her shoulders sagged. She didn't know what exactly she was hoping for, she just knew that he and Seamus joking about it over breakfast wasn't what she'd expected. With a sigh she simply asked him, "Harry, will you go to Hogsmeade with me?"

He touched a finger under her chin and turned her to head to face him. "I'd love to," he said softly and gave her a sweet kiss.

"Oi," Ron's voice protested from not far away. "What the bloody hell is this?"

Harry rested his forehead against hers. "Can you please be the one to deal with this? I'm going to be getting enough glares from him in our dorm."

Ginny smirked at him and gave him one more kiss before pulling away and confronting her brother.

"Harry and I are going out, Ron," she said plainly.

"Wha? Why?" his face was screwed up in disgust.

"Because he's a cat person."

()()()

**AN- I am adding to this compilation story sporadically as I focus more on my other longer stories that I am working on, but I don't know that I will ever be done posting sexy one-shots. It's fun to think up different scenarios for them to hook up in. I love the meet-cute-then-bang stories.**

**I will be adding some excerpts from Chamber Girl in here eventually that are too hot for the 'T' rating as well, but not until the chapters that they are excerpt from are posted.**


	32. Chamber Girl- Explicit Ch 36 Content

**AN- This is an outtake from Chapter 36 of Chamber Girl. In order to keep that story rated T I am posting the lovely explicit bits of that story here for those who enjoy them.**

**()()()**

**Chapter 36**

**()()()**

Ginny had been sent to her Great Aunt Muriels attic straight from Grimmauld Place after they had returned from Dumbledore's office. She was in quite the mood to find out that Lucius Malfoy was still alive and was vibrating with an energy that needed to be put towards something. She had assumed she'd killed him. Not that she had been reflecting on the fact that she'd taken a life but she had probably looked at it as payback for what he'd done to her and what he'd been likely to do to her family during the battle. Now she would have to keep checking over her shoulder for his retaliation.

Harry didn't blame her.

It was a blessing though that this was not stopping he or Ginny from returning to Hogwarts this year. The school was well protected and it was out now that Ginny was alive and Harry had taken down Voldemort. From how Greyback had sent his message to the Minister of Magic and Dumbledore instead of Harry it looked like Greyback wasn't quite as obsessed with Harry as his previous master was.

There was still the chance that someone would want to get vengeance by killing Harry, but the remaining Death Eaters attacking Hogwarts when they had failed so horribly attacking the Burrow seemed unconscionable.

Harry had known that Death Eaters had gotten away but with the note having been sent by Greyback of all the Death Eaters it made Harry want to let out a loud groan and throw his hands up in the air in exasperation. Voldemort he'd felt was his personal problem but Greyback was just as renowned and evil.

Just one year.

That was all Harry wanted. One year of simply going to school and his only worry being his schoolwork and Quidditch. Now there was this.

Ginny would be with them this year too and until a few minutes ago his whole plan was to help her get on the Quidditch team and they were going to find secluded places using his father's map to get away from Ron and snog. Now she was thinking that Malfoy Sr. was going to be after her and Harry was worried that Greyback was going to attack and kill or turn members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Sirius was stomping around about it too.

There had been plenty of Death Eaters that were back in Azkaban, several of the repeat offenders had already been kissed by Dementors which had ensured that the Dementor loyalty returned to the Ministry. Kingsley had helped push legislation through for the corporal punishment as he was moving from the Auror role into the political one as the new Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Part of Kingsley moving out of the Auror department and into this new position of his meant he was focusing on recruiting as well and he had been trying to recruit Sirius.

It was known now what Sirius' true story was but Sirius hadn't given Kingsley a firm answer until now. Greybacks threat had made the decision for Sirius. Having Kingsley as his boss and being able to work alongside Tonks were really the only two things that he saw as a benefit. Having to work with in the laws of the Ministry was going to be a bit of a problem for him though. He was being fast tracked given his experience but there were some courses he would have to take at the Ministry before he was a proper Auror.

After Sirius, Ginny and Harry got back to Grimmauld Place and explained why they had run off like that to everyone else, then got the lot of them calmed down about Dumbledore's part in everything, the Weasley's departed for Muriel's with Tonks in tow.

Harry had wanted to join them but not until he knew that Sirius and he were okay.

By the time lunch rolled around they'd been sitting in silence for ages; Sirius pulling out his course catalog of Ministry rules and paperwork, Harry sitting across from him catching up on his schoolwork he had been given by McGonagall a few days previously.

It was too awkward though.

"I'm going to go help with the cleaning," Harry said. He wanted Sirius to say no and lash out at him for keeping his Horcrux secret from him but Sirius wasn't looking up from his material.

It was the first time Harry was seeing Muriel's house and as he stood in the living room having just come through the Floo he couldn't help but see just how different and stuffy the place was from the immediate comfort and chaos that had been the Burrow. There were little porcelain figurines everywhere with lace doily's underneath them and flowered wallpaper. He was painfully reminded of Umbridge's office, all that was missing were cat plates and a splash of pink.

"Oh! Harry!" Mrs. Weasley spotted him as she was levitating a box of various knick knacks through the hall at the other end of the room. "Good. Come to help then?"

"Yeah, if you could just tell me what you'd like me to do," he said as he wound his way between the empty boxes on the floor by the sofa and coffee table.

"Well, Ginny and Ron are up in the attic. We thought we best start top and bottom. Arthur and I are working in the basement. Could you send Ron down though? I've got to get lunch started and Arthur needs a hand."

"Sure, no problem." He rushed up the stairs two at a time, wrinkling his nose at the décor as he went. The house was a fair size inside and of good construction but it smelled old and was much too tidy.

The stairs up to the attic were down. They were the pull string kind that had the panel you pulled from the ceiling to get the stairs to appear and Harry could hear Ginny's voice coming through the opening.

"Aww, but this little guy is missing a leg. Don't you feel sorry for him? Shouldn't we just let him carry on with his life?"

"Ginny! Just kill it, would you?" Ron sounded slightly panicked.

Harry snickered. Clearly there were a few spiders up there.

"But he's had such a hard life already. Here, why don't you just hold him for a bit so you both won't be afraid."

"Get away from me!"

Footsteps were heard stomping towards the stairs and Ron quickly descended them, catching himself when the sight of Harry standing there caught him off guard.

"She's your problem," he pointed a finger in Harry's face.

"Your mum wants you to go help your dad in the basement anyways," Harry said chuckling.

"Good," he huffed and set off.

Harry climbed the stairs and saw Ginny bent over a dresser looking through the drawers. There was a large collection of mismatched furniture up here with several boxes stacked in every available space. He was caught up looking at the designs carved into what looked to have been a disassembled toddler bed when Ginny came up behind him.

"We all took a turn in that," she told him. "Apparently it is a Prewitt family heirloom. Been given to each new member of the Prewitt family for the past century."

"Guess that one isn't getting tossed then," he commented. "Anything interesting up here that you've found so far?"

"You mean besides cobwebs and spiders?" she asked with a grin.

"No Ghouls?"

"Oh no. There was no way that Muriel would have stood for that. Nor a Boggart or anything else that may have been occupying Grimmauld when Sirius moved back in. She'd have had the exterminators over and ripped a strip of them for treading dirt on her carpet."

There were a few mattresses and end tables and dressers piled everywhere and they all looked to be in good condition.

"Why did she hold on to all this?" he wondered.

"She kept everything useful it looks like. Probably wanted to pass it on to us. I've got a few cousins here and there as well. Most of them have all settled down though," she shrugged.

"So, I guess once this place is cleaned out you'll be staying here before school starts," he said sadly.

"Going to miss me?" she asked softly and nudged him with her shoulder.

"Well, I feel a bit robbed since Tonks pretty much kicked me out of your bed last night," he admitted.

Ginny came around to stand in front of him and they wrapped their arms around each other while she rested her head on his chest. He closed his eyes and took a nice long whiff of her hair.

"I don't think you'll have much luck sneaking into the girl's dorms in Gryffindor you know," she whispered.

"I have a broom," he pointed out.

Her soft chuckles vibrated against his chest. "Fair point. Just don't be expecting me to sneak into your dorm with my brother just feet away."

"If you'll recall, we were actually _sharing_ a bed with him the first time we slept together."

The shiver she gave then was not one of amusement but then she pulled back from him slightly and looked towards the stairs.

He looked over as well but he couldn't hear anything going on downstairs. "What?" he asked her.

"We're alone right now," she pointed out. "Probably have a half hour before we're interrupted by mum with lunch."

"What? You want to lay down one of these mattresses and have a good long snog?" he grinned, starting to back her up towards one. "Miss Weasley," he said in mock offense, "what kind of man do you take me for?"

"Mine," she said definitively before pulling his lips to hers.

He reached under her thighs to pull her up against him, her legs wrapping around his waist as she was pressed against the upright mattress. Her fingers ran through his hair and she purred as his hands moved up to her bum to hold her in place, kneading her there.

She grinned against his mouth and pushed forward with her hips to urge him back a bit and lowered her legs.

"Help me pull this down," she turned quickly and yanked on the heavy mattress.

Harry caught it and helped lower it quietly to the ground, casting a quick spell to muffle any sound that they might make that could be heard from the floor below but still allowing them to hear if someone was coming.

They were both eagerly grinning at each other as Ginny pulled him down on top of her on the mattress, letting out a girlish giggle as they fell back. Their lips connected once more and horizontal like this he felt so much more pleasure from her pressed up against him. His hands could wander instead of needing to hold her up. He groaned as she rocked against him. Apparently it was going to be like that this time, and he was all for it. Already he was at half mast and while her shorts weren't as forgiving a material as her pajamas it still felt good.

He trailed his lips down her jaw line to her neck and responded to her movements as his hand crept up her side to her breast, circling his thumb around her pert nipple. It had been a while since they'd been like this with each other.

He gave a hard thrust forward with his hips.

"Ouch," Ginny winced.

"Sorry," he pulled back, unsure what it was that had just happened that made her hurt.

"Your belt," she grabbed hold of his jeans by the belt loops to push him back and then her hands were quickly undoing his buckle.

"W-wha," he couldn't form words. Ginny was undoing his belt. Did she realize what scenario his brain was telling him was about to happen?

She didn't stop at his belt either. The button on his jeans was popped open followed by his zipper getting pulled down.

"Ginny," he breathed out her name. But then she was pushing his jeans down.

His boxers moved down with them though and suddenly he was naked from his waist to his mid thigh, his erection springing free, the head of it brushing against her shorts.

"Oh! I…" Ginny was blushing, but didn't seem capable of averting her eyes from what she'd done.

Harry was frozen. She was looking at his penis. She hadn't seen it before. They'd always had clothes on their lower halves. He didn't know if he should cover up, or if that ship had sailed. He was stuck staring at her face, waiting for her expression to tell him what she wanted him to do. He knew what he wanted to do, but he didn't know if he'd be able to get the words out.

Turned out he didn't have to say anything though.

The blush on her cheeks was bright red, but the way she was biting her lip and the amazement in her eyes told him she wasn't embarrassed or disgusted. She looked amazed.

Slowly her eyes moved up to lock on his own, her hands coming to rest on his side and gradually moved down between him. He couldn't breath properly as her tongue licked her top lip and her hand finally came to grasp him fully and she started moving it up and down his shaft in the gentlest way possible.

His eyes rolled back in his head and his forehead buried itself in the crook up her neck. "Ginny," he panted.

"Am I doing it alright?" she asked softly.

He could barely concentrate enough to give her an answer. "A- a bit firmer," he managed and she tightened her grip on him.

It felt bloody amazing, but he too wanted to touch her. It was only fair. His brain was functioning just enough for his hand to move between them as well and came to rest on the button of her shorts. "Can I?" he asked with labored breath.

Her head was nodding and he could hear her swallow, feel her chest heaving in anticipation.

Deftly he managed to get her shorts undone and she removed her hand from him to assist with getting her knickers moved down her legs as well. There wasn't much he could see from how they were laying, just her curls, he placed his fingers between her legs and could feel how warm she was there. He twirled his fingers around experimentally, trying to figure out what it was he was meant to be doing and that was when two of them found their way inside her and she let out a cry and rocked against his fingers.

Harry took a steadying breath but from how they were positioned now his erection was pressing against the back of his hand and her own were clutching at his shirt having abandoned their earlier task.

"Gi-Gin," he whispered. He was so worked up at this moment that he thought he might lose control and was desperate for her to touch him again.

She must have thought his speaking her name was asking something else though because instead of simply grasping him once more she pulled his hand away and took hold of him, rocking forward and guiding him to her entrance.

He couldn't have stopped it even if he wanted to.

This hadn't at all been his intention when he suggested a snog but now the tip of his penis was deliciously warm and experiencing the amazing sensation of being enveloped the tight, slick space between her legs.

It was unbelievably tight and hot. Ginny's nails dug into his sides as he slid further inside her, both of them gasping for breath. He couldn't pry his eyes open to see if she was okay all he could do is focus on how incredible this felt.

Once he was completely inside her he thought he would lose control right then and there but he didn't want to be that guy. They were having sex for the first time, he didn't want to leave her with the impression that he couldn't control himself like that.

Ever so slowly he started moving. His first full thrust had his eyes rolling back in his head, his blood was pounding in his ears, but he could have sworn he heard Ginny let out a small whimper. It wasn't enough that he was able to stop himself from making that movement again.

That time he was sure it was a moan and not a whimper that Ginny was making.

Fourth time her nails weren't digging so far into his sides.

Fifth time he could feel her start to meet his movements.

He wasn't going to make it past six. It was all to fucking good. His fist pounded down on the mattress beside Ginny's head as he attempted to try and control himself but it was no good.

"Gin!" he groaned as he came. Every tiny lurch that his body made caused him to give small thrusts inside her and it just had him milking his finish for every ounce of pleasure he could get out of it until he collapsed on top of her completely spent.

He was breathing the thick air into his lungs and trying not to fall straight to sleep. That had been an amazing experience for him, but what about her? He rolled to her side and slipped out from between her legs, the both of them giving a full body twitch at that sensation.

"Did. I mean, you didn't," again, he couldn't find the words. She was laying there looking at him with her cheeks flush and her full lips parted. "Did it hurt?" he worried.

"A little bit," she admitted.

It was so incredibly quiet all around them. He could only hear the sounds of their breaths and his heartbeat. "Was it bad?" Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. He knew he didn't last long but that didn't mean it was completely terrible for her, right?

She gave him a soft smile, "no. It wasn't bad." Her whole face blushed, the red creeping down her neck and chest. "I just… didn't, you know."

"Right," he started. He was elated that she hadn't thought it was awful but unsure of how he was supposed to make up for his lack of self control. "Maybe I could," he lowered his hand to her still unclothed hip, watching her face. There was this slight twinkling in her eyes that told him that was exactly what she hadn't been able to ask him.

His fingers traced down to her legs and travelled upwards on the inside of her thighs which fell apart slightly as she gave a shiver at his touch. Again they didn't take their eyes off each other's until his fingers found her center again then her eyes shut again and a look of pleasure washed over her features.

Still he had no idea what he was doing, from the experiences they'd shared he could sort of figure it out; just sliding his fingers up and down between her folds.

His erection was starting to come back as he continued touching her. She was rocking back against his fingers and he was mesmerized watching how the expression on her face changed so fluidly from pleasure to desperation and back again. He tried to repeat the movements that made her gasp.

Her hand came down overtop of his once she'd had too much of his fumbling and she showed him exactly what she needed him to do, not lifting her hand away, just forcing him to apply a great amount of pressure as she was bucking off the mattress.

Harry was at full mast now and was barely able to concentrate on anything except for how hot this was.

Finally her head came off the bed and she let out a loud gasp as her orgasm ripped through her, a long groan leaving her lips and she rested back, her body gave a few more twitches as her hand moved away from his and he kept making small circular movements over her clit.

Once he was completely sure she was satisfied he helped pull up her knickers and shorts. Ignoring the throbbing between his own legs he pulled up his own and lay down beside her.

"Well," she said as he came back to lay beside her. "I, um. I didn't anticipate that happening today."

"No," he agreed as she turned to her side and cuddled against him. "If someone had asked me what they thought was more plausible to happen today, Sirius trashing Dumbledore's office or us… doing that-"

"You can call it sex, Harry," she said, but he could almost feel the heat coming off her face when she said it.

"You don't want to give it some flowery term, like 'making love'?" he smiled.

"Do I seem like the flowery type to you?" Ginny asked.

"No. But you deserve them. I'm going to buy you flowers. Or pick them. Either way, you're getting flowers," he said decidedly. He hadn't gotten her flowers before and that was wrong. She was wonderful and amazing, she needed to get flowers. He made a vow to himself then to get her flowers regularly and for no reason.

"I love you," was all she said in response.

He grinned hearing that. He knew she loved him, they'd said it a few times now, but it was still music to his ears.

"I love you too."

"Um…" Ginny started.

"Yeah?" he asked, his eyes closed and simply basking in the afterglow. The sun shining in through the dirty window had illuminated the room nicely and the mattress was extremely comfortable.

"You said you didn't anticipate that we were going to do that," she started.

His brow furrowed, "I mean, there was always the hope. I am a seventeen-year-old male after all who happens to be completely infatuated with his girlfriend."

"Yes, well did that hope of yours involve a spell of any kind?" she asked delicately.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"The spell," she said directly.

"What spell?" he asked.

Ginny pulled away from him quickly then. He got up on his elbows as she rushed across the room. He didn't have any idea what she was talking about until she'd gotten to her own wand that had been on the dresser and she cast a spell at herself that had a beam of light that went to her lower belly.

Oh.

That spell.

Harry's eyes went wide and he felt a deep and foreboding weight settle in his stomach. It was making him a little sick to think about.

"We… we're good right?" he asked in a panic. "There's like, a window?"

Please, dear Merlin, God, Buddha, whoever, let there be a window.

"Yes. There's a window," Ginny assured him. "I can't believe we forgot though. Do you know how many times Fleur and Tonks have drilled that into my head?" She crossed the room again and lay back down beside him, giving another wave of her wand to cancel out the silencing spell he had cast earlier.

"The window, it's more than a few minutes?" he asked. He didn't want to be a father. Maybe someday, but not now.

"It's a few hours," she assured him.

He sank back into the mattress in relief.

()()()


	33. Changeroom

**AN- This prompt comes from Celine Gryffindor who wanted to see Harry as a bit of a bad boy. Raised decently by the Dursleys. He had a thing for Ginny and went about it the wrong way for her. Lots of fights, kisses, passion and hatred between them until nobody could take it anymore.**

**I've taken a new approach with this story, from the eyes of the observer who couldn't take it anymore.**

**()()()**

**Changeroom**

**()()()**

Demelza kept pushing on the changeroom door but it wouldn't budge. The same thing had happened a few weeks ago and she gave a frustrated sigh and shook her head before hitting her fist to the wood once more in frustration then resigned herself to heading back up to her own dorm room for a shower and to change. She'd have to collect her things from the change room later. These little episodes of her captains only lasted for an hour maximum.

The little episodes resulted in her captain being in a foul mood as well.

Demelza didn't understand why Ginny would be in such a foul mood after though. She was locked in that changeroom with one of the most delicious men that Hogwarts had turned out.

Demelza had overheard Ginny's last attempt at a boyfriend right after Ginny had broken things off with him. Poor Andrew never saw it coming. He'd stomped into the library and found one of Ginny's other previous attempts at a normal romantic relationship at the table close to the one Demelza had been occupying. Andrew had asked a series of questions to Dean about the odd behavior Ginny had been displaying and how she'd abruptly ended their relationship then the two of them compared notes. The two of them had lasted a few dates only and hadn't managed to get much more than a single snog out of her. Ginny had seemed so eager to start things but hadn't seemed invested.

Those poor boys, Demelza rolled her eyes.

It hadn't been that hard for Ginny to a suitor to accompany her to Hogsmeade or carry her book bag. Her trick was that she wasn't interested in those boys. She hadn't been scribbling their names over the margins of her notebooks, she'd simply been trying to find someone to bring about in her whatever it was that Harry Potter did.

The power that man had over Ginny.

Demelza wished there was someone that would look at her like that.

If someone she fancied did look at her like that though it wouldn't be the same. Ginny hated that she was in love with Harry Potter. The boy was trouble; Slytherin, spoiled, rich, amazing Seeker and he had this inherent goodness about him despite where he'd been placed at Hogwarts.

He'd finished school the previous year and the whole student body breathed a sigh of relief because they wouldn't have to listen to the Potter/Weasley fights in the corridors anymore. Then he started showing up during Hogsmeade trips and for Quidditch games. Now apparently Gryffindor Quidditch practice was enough for him to merit a visit to his alma mater.

She had been there for the start of this whole thing between them. Demelza had been in third year when Ginny made the Gryffindor team as a Seeker and because she was such a huge Quidditch lover Demelza had introduced herself to Ginny and they'd become fast friends. Harry was the Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team and so far as she knew he hadn't even registered Ginny before that game when Ginny caught the Snitch right out from under Harry. It had been a lucky catch, when it was finally spotted by the pair of them during the game the Snitch just happened to have been a lot closer to Ginny.

That was what set it off. Harry didn't get angry, he got pretentious and then he got worse when he asked Ginny out and she turned him down.

Thus began the next two and half years of the pair of them either trying to one up each other or being on top of each other.

It wasn't common knowledge that they'd had romantic interludes.

Demelza was pretty sure she was the only one of Ginny's friends that knew and that had only been because they'd forgotten to lock the changeroom door one day last year during one of their hate fueled trysts.

The image of the two of them there on the bench with her jersey off and his hand down the back of her trousers had been forever imprinted into Demelza's mind. She _wished_ that someone would get her all hot and bothered like Ginny had been.

The look on Harry's face too when they realized they'd been caught in the act and the way that Ginny had sounded so worried that what they'd been doing would get out to the rest of the school. Harry had been hurt by that, by the way Ginny had refuted the idea that whatever it was between them could possibly be real or something more. He'd looked devastated.

But Ginny hadn't seen that. She'd only seen the smug expression he'd pulled before she turned around to look at him and have him back her up. He'd handed Ginny her the jersey that had fallen to the floor and said nothing more before walking out. Then the two of them had been in foul moods for a week.

Demelza wasn't sure what exactly the problem was. They obviously wanted each other. If they would just simply speak up she was sure that this animosity between them would melt away and they could be happy together.

It wasn't even a pure blood thing. They were both from a long history of Magical families and even though Harry was a Slytherin he was raised by Muggles and enjoyed Muggle things, that had been why several of the other Slytherin's in his year didn't associate with him. All the younger Slytherins idolized him though because the professors liked him and he was a star on the Quidditch Team.

It was something he and Ginny had in common. They were both adored. Except for when they were at each other's throats and not in the sexy way they probably were right now.

Demelza stomped through the Entrance Hall and towards the staircase.

She could remember that time just after Harry had asked Ginny out and she'd said no, how fast it was he moved on to another girl as though to show that Ginny rejecting him didn't mean anything to him in the least. He'd been sitting at the Ravenclaw table with his newest conquest and locked eyes with Ginny just before he started snogging his new girlfriend. His eyes had stayed on Ginny's as though to try and show her what she was missing out on.

Ginny had gone and gotten herself a boyfriend right after that show.

Could you imagine? Getting your first boyfriend out of spite. Demelza wanted to just shake her head at the pair of them.

Ever since then for the two of them they'd gone from one person to the next. Only after seeing the two of them locked in that embrace last year did she start connecting the dots with their break-ups. Ginny had clearly been treating her boyfriends as a distraction but even though she didn't have deep rooted feelings for them she couldn't just go around behind their backs with her _enemy_, so she would break it off with whomever she was with after she and Harry had caved in to their carnal needs.

Harry would always start up with someone new after Ginny had broken it off with her boyfriends, so that must have been his way of torturing Ginny a bit for hooking up with him and then not allowing anything to become of it.

They were so stupid. The pair of them.

What if Harry just tried wooing her for real? Less hooking up when he got her good and wanton and more hearts and flowers. He could try even just sending her an owl to let her know he was thinking of her.

Awe.

Demelza's heart melted a little bit at the mere thought of it. That would be so sweet.

Maybe if the two of them were locked in the changeroom for longer than just their tryst they could try and work out their feelings about each other. They clearly had deep feelings for the other, Ginny wouldn't just shag him because he was hot and he got her all bothered. And Demelza _knew_ that they were shagging each other. She'd helped Ginny brew a contraceptive potion a few weeks ago and it certainly wasn't because her boyfriend was getting under her skirt, she and Andrew had only just started seeing her then and Ginny wasn't some easy slag who would sleep with whomever. She clearly was in love with Harry, she was just in denial.

By the time Demelza reached Gryffindor Tower she had decided. If the changeroom door was still locked by the time she got back down there after cleaning herself up she was going to make sure that it stayed locked for several more hours after as well.

It would do the both of them a world of good to be forced to properly talk to each other and have it all out. Demelza would probably be praised by wizard kind if she got them to admit they loved each other and there was a happily every after that would result in Ginny taking her pent up agression out on the team during Quidditch practice.

They were both so nice to everyone but each other. If they could just get over their stupid pride then that would be all it took to seal the deal, but to do that they just needed the time to see that the other person had fallen for them for real.

As quick as she could manage Demelza cleaned herself up and changed her clothes before racing back down to the Quidditch pitch.

How long could a hate fueled romp take? Would they still be in there when she got back to the pitch? Practice had ended just over twenty minutes ago and she'd spent an extra five minutes chatting with the boys on the team after Ginny had stomped off towards the changerooms partly due to their shoddy performance and partly due to Potter having turned up in the stadium seats halfway through.

The scenario of what may have played out ran through Demelza's mind, except instead of it being Ginny and Harry acting it out it was she and a tall dark and handsome stranger who's silhouette was shockingly close to Roger Samuels, the Hufflepuff Keeper who was in her year that she'd found herself staring at often lately.

He would come into the changeroom and say something to set her off. Then the two of them would go back and forth a bit with their quips escalating as their bodies moved closer and closer to each other until eventually they were pressed up against each other in a passionate embrace and their clothes would start slowly hitting the floor. Then they would make it into the shower and have fantastic shower sex in the hot water.

That had to take more than ten minutes, right? Then there was the pulling themselves together afterwards; drying off, pulling their clothes back on, telling each other it was the last time.

By the time Demelza was back in front of the changeroom door it could only have been a total of thirty minutes since they'd first been in there. She pushed on the door and it didn't give.

Yes!

Pulling her wand out she placed the strongest locking charm she could think of. It wasn't strong enough for the two of them to be unable to pull it down though. From what she'd heard Harry Potter was on his way to becoming an Auror now, surely he knew how to bring down locking charms. So she was going to sit outside of the room and keep reapplying the charm whenever there was the flicker of light that told her they'd unlocked it.

The Hufflepuff Quidditch team had started their practice, luckily they had their own changerooms. Roger was fully kitted out so Demelza really didn't mind sitting there and staring up at him while she kept her peripherals on the door.

Demelza gave a sigh. This was rather sad, her being so caught up in Ginny's love life. She wanted to be caught up in her own, but she'd seen no sign that Roger knew who she was and he was the only boy that had caught her eye. He had such a lovely smile and this dimple on one of his cheeks.

After a few minutes there was a flash of light on the door and Demelza immediately recast her locking spell. There was another flash and she recast it again.

The doorknob rattled and there was a banging on the wood.

Again and again Demelza recast her locking charm until the flashes of light telling her the two of them on the other side had still been attempting to get out had stopped occurring. Either they assumed someone on this side of the door was keeping them in there or they figured there was some sort of prank on the door with a timer that had been applied. Whichever it was she was intent on keeping them in there together for another two hours at least. She may have had loads of studying to do but it wasn't like she was eager to get to it.

Watching the Hufflepuff Quidditch practice was entertainment enough for her anyhow.

When the Hufflepuff practice ended she turned back to examine the changeroom door again. Two hours had passed at least since they'd tried to get out again. They must have at least said something to each other by now, that or they'd just shagged a few more times. Her fingers were crossed for some form of conversation to have gone on between them.

"Spying?" asked a voice heading towards her from the pitch.

Demelza jumped at the sudden sound and saw that it was Roger that was heading towards her. "What? No! No, of course not! I was just…" she thought a moment about her excuse. This was a private thing she was doing. Ginny may have been her friend but were she to be the reason for Ginny's private information to be spread around the school there would be some serious cold shouldering.

Roger smiled widely at her like he'd asked the question in jest. "Don't worry. I don't think Gryffindor have too much to worry about. Your team is top notch and we have a history of doing only okay."

"I think you did some rather brilliant saves there," she defended him. "You're a great Keeper. We've just got a Weasley on our team and they tend to dominate on the pitch."

"Do they dominate in the changerooms as well?" he asked with a gesture towards the changeroom door. "Is that why you keep locking her in there?"

Demelza's jaw dropped open. He'd noticed that from as far away as he'd been? He was nearly clear across the pitch from her throughout the entire practice! "You saw that?" she whispered.

"I did. Had to keep one eye on the Quaffle and one on you the whole practice. You're rather distracting." There was a slight color that came to his cheeks when he said that.

She felt her whole body grow warm from his attention and she was sure that her cheeks were blazing red then.

"What's she done to make you so upset with her then?" he ploughed on. "Run you a bit hard during your practice? I would imagine as the only other girl on the team this year she has you working harder than the others to prove you are as good as she. Not that you already aren't," he added hurriedly.

"No, no. Nothing like that. She just…" Demelza took a moment to think up an excuse. "She needed time alone to come to some realizations. Talk things our and stop burying her feelings."

His eyebrows went up in question and confusion at that.

"Right," she searched around for anything else that she could say to him. "I think I've been making her stay in there long enough though. I missed out on lunch all together. Should probably just head back up to the school and get something from the kitchens." She bit her lip and lowered her head.

The boy she fancied was standing before her and he'd been the one to search her out for a conversation. She didn't want to walk away from him, but standing there and discussing her friend and Quidditch Captain wasn't on the list of the top ten things she'd like to be talking to him about.

"You know how to get into the kitchens?" he asked brightly. "It's great isn't it? I only discovered how this year. The House Elf's are damned eager aren't they?"

"They are," she beamed. "Erm, did. Did you want to," she gestured back towards the castle in invitation.

"That'd be great!" he exclaimed. "Just. Do you mind if I get changed out of my kit first? I'll only be a minute."

"I don't mind," she told him eagerly. "I'll just wait here for you. Maybe let her know that she's free now," she indicated to the changeroom door.

"Great. See you in a minute."

Demelza stared after him until he was halfway across the pitch before she unlocked the changeroom door and covered her eyes with her hand before she walked in.

"I really hope the two of you are dressed," she prefaced before peaking between her fingers to see Ginny and Harry there on the bench. They were dressed and their bodies were spaced a bit apart. All but their heads were turned towards each other as though they'd been in conversation, they were now looking back at her in surprise.

"Oh good! You aren't naked. So look, I'm going to let the two of you out now, but I just wanted to let you know that you're both being complete idiots if you can't see that each of you is in love with the other. You're wasting precious time with this trumped-up feud between you. You want to be with each other and you're both using others as little distractions from what your heart is telling you is right. You should be together. And if my locking you in here hasn't given you enough time to finally say that to each other then you're both idiots." She managed to get that out as concisely as her excitement would allow.

"Now then," she shook with excitement. "I have to go and focus on my own love life now because I have a date!" she grinned and gave a little hop. "At least I think it's date. We're going to the kitchens to get a late lunch just the two of us. Bye!" With that she left them in there with their bashful expressions on their face and coy looks at each other.

She would find out later if those two had moved past their primal feelings for each other and would be developing their other feelings from here on out but right now she had a boy of her own heading over to her and he was looking good.

()()()


	34. Chamber Girl- Explicit Ch 38 Content

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**Chapter 38**

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"Just smile at people?" Harry asked skeptically. His eyebrows had crooked up in the middle when she'd told him that particular life hack.

Just that morning Harry had observed Ginny snorting into her cereal as she listened to some anecdote of Colin's over breakfast and he had been happy to see she and her new friends were getting on great now that they'd known each other for a few months.

It had been a slow start to her adjusting back to life at Hogwarts; there were still several curious looks given her way, but everyone had grown fairly accustomed to her now, just as everyone had eventually done with him after every crazy life event that happened to him and rumor spread. Apparently Luna had told Ginny to start smiling and that had been a turning point for her. It was such a simple thing but he certainly found people with a kind smile more approachable, so it made sense.

They'd just hidden away in the Room of Requirement for a private moment then.

"Not in a creepy way," Ginny rolled her eyes and kicked off her shoes as she made for the bed that had been conjured up for them.

Harry was rather intrigued by the sight of the bed. He had asked the room for somewhere comfortable with a fireplace and a big couch, which meant the bed suggestion had to have come from Ginny and he had no objections to that.

There hadn't been much alone time they got together. Ron, Hermione, Luna and several others were always milling about and pulling their attention this way and that. They were in different years with different schedules; Harry didn't know why he had anticipated their return to Hogwarts together would feel more like it had when they were stuck in Grimmauld Place but with less supervision. That was not at all what it had been like.

There were eyes everywhere.

He and Ron had a strict 'don't ask, don't tell' understanding because Harry wasn't too keen to hear what Ron was getting up to with Hermione that put her in such a good mood and Ron certainly didn't want to know where Harry's lips and hands had just been on Ginny when they managed to steal a minute behind a tapestry.

It was kind of disappointing to Harry that he didn't have any mate's that he felt he could share stories or ask for helpful hints. He couldn't talk to Ron because Ginny was his sister, and he couldn't talk to Sirius because he and Ginny had bonded so much when they were in isolation together. And he didn't want to start asking for helpful hints from Hermione because that was admitting he might need helpful hints. Ginny had been rather vocal or demonstrative about what worked for her when they did manage to find time together but he knew that she had been talking to Fleur and Tonks about what they'd gotten up to. Tonks had certainly given him a knowing wink the last time they'd seen each other before school started.

Ginny let out a long indulgent sigh as she fell back against the sheets. "Finally," she moaned. "Who knew we were so popular?"

"It must be that smile of yours," he teased and kicked off his own shoes.

"I don't know. Could be that whole indestructible thing you have going on," she said with a lazy wave at his whole being.

He shook his head and smiled as he came to lay beside her. "Whatever it is, we need to nip it in the bud. With all this homework crap, friends, and the Quidditch craziness of our Captain-"

"He's _your_ friend," she argued.

"He's _your_ brother," Harry countered.

"Yes, but _I_ didn't decide that. _You_ on the other hand chose him."

They grinned at each other.

Ron had been an excellent Quidditch Captain so far. He wasn't too extreme like Oliver Wood had been, he was just enthusiastic. His excitement for the game and book of play's he had them trying made Harry almost forget how ultimately pathetic Ron had been in his first match on the Gryffindor team.

"So are you going to woo me Potter, or what?" Ginny asked, biting her lower lip and attempting to look at him demurely.

"I have to woo you now?" he asked with a laugh. "I would be crap at that. I probably would have just stuttered and spilled things down my front in your presence if we hadn't been friends first."

"Aww, I wish I'd seen that," she grinned and rolled to her side so she was cuddled up against him. "Maybe you could slop some soup down your front at lunch tomorrow? Give me a taste of what I missed out on?"

"Anything for you," he told her in jest.

They only had about two hours before they knew they'd be missed but having her here in this bed with him was making him long for those nights they'd fallen asleep beside each other.

"We should have spent every night we could have together," he sighed regretfully.

Ginny gave him a kiss to his neck. "I didn't want to risk moving too fast, and didn't want you taking it for granted," she told him straight.

"I know." And he did. "Not that what we did in your Great Aunt's attic with no forethought didn't shoot that first part to shit."

"I don't know about that. You _had_ taken a killing curse for me," she reasoned. "Shagging you was the least I could do to say 'thank-you'."

"You don't get to use that as an excuse; it was several weeks later. We did it because we both wanted to." As the words were coming out of his mouth he was already hoping to hear her confirm that. They hadn't been that intimate with each other since then, but he'd had a few vivid dreams over the last few months about a sequel, he just needed to know that she was open to it.

"We did," she said softly, her hand tracing up and down his arm.

Harry turned his head towards her, taking a moment to enjoy the sight of her warm brown eyes before he nuzzled their noses together and their eyes closed. Their lips met and inside he was smiling at the familiar feeling of them. He wished she would have been able to skip ahead a year and be in all his classes so they could spend more time together. With all their different classes on opposite sides of the castle he missed her during the day.

Until she'd left with her family from Grimmauld Place he didn't even realize how accustomed he was to being with her all the time, and how much he loved it.

Right now he was loving the feel of her hand slipping down his front and nimbly undoing the buttons there. Following her lead he began helping remove her shirt as well.

Ginny didn't wait for him to finish with her shirt before he hand came to his belt buckle.

"We don't have to," he said unconvincingly. He wanted to. He was bursting to have another go. Harry wanted to keep right on shagging her until he figured out how to give her the same incredible finish she gave him, and at the same time too.

"I want to," she assured him.

"Oh, thank Merlin." He crushed his lips to hers and started working feverishly to get the button on her trousers undone.

It was taking each of them a bit to work of the others clothing and the two of them were both chuckling over the difficulty they were experiencing as they attempted to undress each other.

"Not quite as easy as pajama's," Ginny giggled when his shirt got caught on his watch.

"Really not," he agreed as her trousers were now bunched up at her ankles and quite happily caught on the heel of her foot, unwilling to move further. "How about we get our own kit off right now and figure out how to properly undress each other later?" he suggested.

"Done." And she quickly pulled her undershirt over her head and her trousers and socks off.

With just their underthings on they came back together.

"Spell before this time," he reminded her, his eager erection yelling at him for delaying things further.

"Already did it," she replied hurriedly, pulling him closer again and wrapping her legs around his hips, rolling them over so he was on top of her.

He wondered if the strange power she had might somehow make him start feeling some of her arousal. They hadn't attempted figuring out what it was she was capable of, they knew it extended enough to somehow call him back from the dead, but transferring emotion at a time like this would be entirely beneficial to him.

She rocked against him and his eyes rolled back at the feeling as he matched her movements. He had to figure out how to get her more eager for it than him though. He wanted to feel what it was like to be inside her when she came. It already felt incredible to be inside her but it would feel even better if he could experience that.

"Gin," he pulled back. "I want to get you close first," he panted.

"What?" she asked dizzily.

He grinned at how clearly aroused she was and felt proud of himself for making her feel that way. Slowly he worked his way down her body leaving a trail of kisses along her neck, down her chest, burying his face a moment in her still covered breasts, down her stomach until he was between her legs.

He gave a kiss to the inside of her thigh, waiting for her to relax a bit and feel comfortable with where he was positioned. She'd been giving a appreciative sighs as he blazed his path but tensed as he reached his destination. He was trying to turn her on not get her anxious. They hadn't done this before but he had had dreams about doing this to her and he wanted it to be a good experience for the both of them. He wanted to know if it really was as good in reality. Before those dreams of his had started he'd known what oral was but thought it would be pretty disgusting for a guy to do on a girl; At least when a girl did it to a guy it was straight-forward, now though he couldn't wait to experience it.

With her knickers still on he kissed his way between her legs, breathing in the smell of her there and glancing up to see her head fall back at the feel of his mouth over her like that. It was essentially snogging her through the cloth of her knickers while she was directing her hips exactly where she wanted his mouth to be and rocking against him. He didn't feel her at all tense right now.

Concentrating on what he was doing he tried to push out of his mind how turned on he was. There was a heat coming off her and her knickers were growing damp against his chin due to something other than he heat of his mouth against it.

Again and again she made these soft moans and rocked herself against his mouth.

Unable to help himself any more he pushed his boxers down and hooked his fingers at her hips to pull down her knickers, kissing his way back up her body and the carnal beast inside him not looking for consultation before biting at her bra in protest over the offending garment still being on her.

Ginny understood exactly what he was asking of her and removed it, flinging it to the other side of the room and letting him bury his face in her soft plush skin there.

"Harry, please," she panted, rocking her hips against him more urgently.

He managed to get himself lined up with her properly, pressing his lips against hers once more before slowly easing himself inside her.

That initial movement was absolute heaven. He'd recreate that feeling over and over again if it didn't feel so incredibly to stay inside her as well.

"It's okay this time?" he asked in a whisper, begging for the answer to be yes.

"Mhmm," she managed, her head was nodding and her eyes screwed shut tight. The small bit of discomfort displaying on her face was contradictory to the small thrusting movements her lower half was still making.

That was good because he didn't think he'd be able to stop himself from carrying on. He pushed into her over and over again, trying to keep changing up the rythym a bit to delay his gratification and attempt finding something that really worked for her.

Grinding.

That was what they'd done together for months and it had done the trick every time. He didn't know why them having proper sex would have changed anything about what felt good to her. Her response to that was instantaneous. Her groan and the way she grabbed at him let him know it was exactly the way she wanted it. With each slight in and out movement he pressed harder against her and heard her moans. There was this pressure surrounding his erection now that was different from what he'd been feeling, and wetter.

Soon it was like a vice gripping him and Ginny was clutching at him and gasping. It was like the sensation of first entering her, but better and he was soon finishing right along with her as he let go with a loud groan.

"Holy shit," she whispered in a long groan of her own.

"That must be what all of those songs are talking about," he said, more to himself.

**()()()**


	35. Companionability

**AN- Prompt- Wanting one Muggle AU and they meet through online game**

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**Companionability **

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Ginny nodded politely and tried really hard to act like she was interested in what her date was saying. She didn't understand half the acronyms he was using though. Her job didn't exactly require her to be up on all the financial jargon. And this guy seemed very into his job.

As he prattled on she wondered whether having to sit here and listen to him, pretending to listen to him anyhow, was harder than completing her college coursework had been. There was food here, yes, but she usually had food on her at all times anyways. Not beet and feta salad with a balsamic reduction as was currently in front of her, but a granola bar or something at least.

There was wine here! She hadn't done her course work with alcohol present, she hadn't had any money to spare for frivolous indulgences like alcohol when she was in school.

So… that was a plus on the side of a date.

Let's see. What else would be the plus side to having to sit here and stare at this obnoxious man in his dry-clean only shirt with his perfectly styled hair.

Who had time to go to the dry cleaners?

Oh. She really had to remember to throw a load on in the washer when she got home.

Why her sister-in-law wanted to set her up with this man was beyond her.

She only allowed herself one night out a month, she could have been spending that with friends, or taking in that new movie in the cinema even it was only by herself. Being in a great dark theatre right then by herself with a big bag of popcorn and a beverage that was much too large for the size of her bladder would have been preferential to this.

This guy was Audrey's type, not Ginny's.

Maybe Audrey was just feeling bad for her because she hadn't had a suitor in many years.

To be fair she had wound up having a quick snog here and there after a night out at the bar, but a _real_ suitor, Ginny gave a mental sigh, it had been so long.

And even when she'd last had a man that she could have called her boyfriend she always knew it wouldn't last.

The closest she had to a relationship outside of her family with a man was The Seeker, and he was only known to her as that. He was her partner in World of Warcraft.

It was her biggest secret that she was slightly obsessed with that game, she'd gotten into it after taking a psychology course and they were doing a bit on perspectives. Her story was a piece on introverts and how there were those who considered online gaming to cater specifically to that type and in order to make her paper well rounded she started playing the game herself.

Then it was nearly every night that she was playing it. But it was only after she had finished everything else that needed to get done; kitchen clean, laundry done, calls returned. She was determined not to let her obsession take over, but generally from 9pm to 10:30pm she was online waging battles and going on quests with The Seeker.

She would much rather be hearing about his day right now as they then listening to Cormac start talking about his rowing team championship as he was now launching into that story. The Seeker had such a lovely voice and _their_ conversations weren't just one-sided.

If this dud of a date finished up in a half an hour then she could probably catch The Seeker before he signed off for the night.

There was one sure-fire way that she could make the date ended before dessert but she didn't know if it was slightly mean. A guy like him though, he would probably fake an emergency phone call and bolt.

"What say we go and have a nightcap?" Cormac asked her, his smug expression clearly indicating she should have been impressed by everything he'd bragged about.

"I don't know," she began coquettishly. "I should really get home to my son."

From the slight drop in his expression she knew Audrey hadn't informed him of that little tidbit of information about her.

"S-son?" he asked. "You're divorced?"

"No," she shook her head and gave a light and fake laugh. "You have to get married in order to get divorced. I may not have been ready to get pregnant at sixteen but getting married was hardly going to fix that problem."

"You got knocked up when you were a teenager?" His eyes were bugging out now and starting to dart around for the exit. "But, Audrey said you worked for The Telegraph, she said you are on a football team and went to Middlesex and had a flat in Hampstead."

"All true," Ginny nodded. "Is that not supposed to be possible when I've a son?" She'd seen this reaction a few times before. Ginny had busted her arse and applied for every single grant and scholarship she could potentially get to help put herself through school and afford childcare for Liam.

Her parent's and brothers had not been happy to find out she had gotten pregnant at such a young age, she wasn't happy to learn about it herself. It had been the result of a drunken night that she would have rather forgotten. Liam's father didn't believe her when she said it was his baby, and refused to get a paternity test, which she wasn't going to push. She didn't need his money anyhow; she had proven that.

Initially there had been a lot of disappointed looks from her family and conversations cut short when she walked into the room. She had gone to school for as long as her pregnancy allowed and finished her diploma through online learning. She didn't want to be dependent on her family though. They had protested, but all of their warnings of how her moving away with Liam was a mistake just had her more determined to prove them wrong.

And she had.

And she had missed them all terribly.

She would still visit with them and call each of her six brothers all the time. The weekend usually involved at least one hour long conversation with her mum while she was getting food ready for the week ahead. Eventually they had all recovered from the shock that was her life turning event.

"Right," Cormac said slowly. "So, I didn't really sign up to be someone's step-father figure, but if you want a one-off," he offered.

Ginny had been taking a sip of her wine at the time and snorted into her glass. She gave a cough and cleared her throat. "Uh, thank you for the offer. But my last one-off resulted in my son, so I'll pass."

"You-you haven't had a shag since you were sixteen?" he asked incredulously, looking her over.

Yes, she looked quite fit, but she did play football and was only twenty-three. Getting pregnant in her teen years meant that her figure bounced right back to what it had been before she grew a human.

Right, well that's date over. At least she got a meal out of it.

This is the last time she'll let Audrey set her up with someone.

"I believe that's my cue to leave," Ginny said standing up. "Thanks so much for the meal. If I could leave you with one little tidbit of a suggestion; don't be such a pretentious arse to your next date. Maybe stop with the self-obsession and include her at some point in your _very boring_ narratives." With that she pulled on her jacket and left him there with the bill.

Thirty minutes later she was at her computer with her headset on and logged into her character.

"We doing a raid?" she asked.

"Hey!" came the excited voice of The Seeker in her ear. "I thought you weren't going to make it tonight?"

"Yeah, well. Plans fall through. This was a better option than spending another second with that twat," she grinned and tried to catch up to speed with anything she might have missed out on in the game.

"No quests tonight," The Seeker told her. "Just exploring and building up our supplies."

"You going to buy me a drink then at yonder pub?" she teased, checking the map and seeing that there was actually a village close to where they were.

"It's your turn to treat actually. You owe me for going all Leeroy Jenkins in the last raid."

"Hey now, it was not that bad! You were too worried. What was the worst that could have happened?"

"Hmm, death and destruction come to mind."

"This game is all about death and destruction," she pointed out.

"Yes, well we do rather try to be the one's doing the killing, not getting killed."

"Well that time you were the one sitting around with his thumb up his arse himming and hawing for well too long."

The Seeker just chuckled on the other end. "Right, right. Woman of action you are."

"You know me well."

Their interactions were always just that candid. It had been nearly a year now that they had been teamed up together and they chatted so much that he was essentially her best friend, though they didn't know much about each other outside of the game. He knew that she had a little boy and a hectic job, she knew that he had a job he enjoyed with people he liked and he loved roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

She also loved the sound of his voice. Chatting with him about everything and nothing at the end of the day after putting Liam to sleep was her bedtime routine. Now that she was hearing that lovely tenor Ginny felt like she was actually able to relax after her uncomfortable date.

()()()

"So, how was it?" Stacy asked her, pounced on her really, first thing Monday morning.

"You could text me these questions, you know?" Ginny grinned at her friends enthusiasm but Ginny didn't like telling dating stories, not that there were many, at work.

"I could, but then I wouldn't be able to see your face when you answer them," Stacy explained with a shrug.

The two of them were executive assistants, Stacy for the Creative Director, Ginny for the Advertising Sales Director. It wasn't the most glamorous job in the world but it kept her busy, kept her moving and she learned a lot about the businesses they were trying to entice to advertise in the Telegraph and that could be quite interesting.

Today they had people from The British Museum coming in and Ginny was looking forward to sitting in on that meeting. Her boss had her pull information on all the executives coming in and The British Museum financial records and advertising budget as well as information on all events that had been held there in the past three years. There had been a lot of prep for this and she was going to eat up watching her boss in action pitching this sale. It was a work of art the way that woman could convince these major partners to level up on their marketing.

"So," Stacy stared at her in rapt interest.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I got a meal out of it, but the company I suffered through made Pot Noodles look more appealing."

"He was that bad?"

"He was that pompous. Cookie cutter stock of a boarding school brat with money that rows crew. He didn't shut up about himself from 'hello' to 'shall we have a night cap'."

Stacy gave her a pity pout. Stacy was married with three kids that were all in school. She loved her husband, but after fifteen years together they fun flutters that occur early in a relationship were gone and she just ate up any new relationship gossip that floated through the office.

"So you didn't get a leg over?" she asked straightforward.

"No Stacy. I did not get a leg over," Ginny chuckled and shook her head.

"Damn. You really need to start getting out more. William is having a birthday party next weekend. It's going to be a sleepover, why don't you drop Liam round and find another man to take you out. The boys get on and I can't very well live vicariously through you if you aren't doing anything of interest."

"My God woman! Doesn't your husband shag you anymore?" Ginny asked her incredulously. Quietly, but incredulously. "Why are you so hard up for _me_ to get shagged? Can't you just go get the Kama Sutra or something?"

Stacy was not offended by that she just shuffled her chair closer to Ginny and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Girl, I know how much you pushed yourself to get to this point in your life. Liam is getting older and so are you. I want you to be happy. Yes, I also want to come into work on Monday's and hear that you've had an incredibly erotic and acrobatic weekend, but overall, I want you to be happy. You deserve it."

"I'm fine," Ginny stated clearly and firmly to her. "I have a full enough life as it is. If someone comes along, then great. But I will not go trolling the bars to find someone. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to get back to work."

The only person that didn't seem to care about her love life was her boss, Miranda Hopkins. She was a no nonsense woman that was a great person to work under and was willing to show Ginny what it took to succeed in this line of work. Miranda didn't care about their office gossip, she cared about other office gossip. She wanted to know when a major company wasn't happy with other publications, she wanted to keep up with the new trends in advertising and she had taught Ginny who it was in other print media who to get to know.

Ginny had contacts in all the publication houses from The Times to the Weekly Messenger and she kept her eye out in every publication for any mistakes made. She had been groomed perfectly for her job and she was proud of all she'd accomplished.

She also liked being the person behind the one in power. Ginny wasn't the one calling the shots, she was the one implementing them, and she loved it.

Another big meeting was just finishing up and when the door to the conference room opened and Ginny jumped at the opportunity to get in there and prep it for Miranda's meeting with The British Museum, and get away from Stacy so she could refocus on work.

Miranda came into the room twenty minutes later and took a whiff of the air. "Coffee?" she asked.

"Lord Davis' preferred drink," Ginny told her. "He isn't fond of tea, but he is of coffee and crumpets. He is the one that we need to win over." She went to the side table and made sure that all of their statistics were there. "He isn't fond of having numbers thrown at him, but does like to know that things have been thoroughly researched. They are getting heavily invested into technology and focusing a lot of their advertising budget on their website, but their key demographic are not yet comfortable with technology and the admission rates for school groups, which _are_ good with technology, are not making them any money."

"Yet their demographic _does_ read the Daily Telegraph," Miranda nodded.

"Yes, they do," Ginny said with a smile as she handed her boss a hot cup of tea. "We sell them on advertising design, our reaching their key demographic and charitable contributors. They don't need to be wasting their money advertising in the aeroplane magazines since they are always on the top ten museums to visit in London. They need to keep themselves at the forefront of the British people's mind for a place to visit and hold events. We are Britain's news source. We also have our website that we can advertise them through and link it to their website. We pitch them an advertising package that starts with doing a story on the newest addition to the museum that Lord Davis is excited about."

"Which is?" Miranda asked, already knowing the answer.

"The newest exhibition which is the drawings of Michelangelo," Ginny stated.

Miranda gave her an approving smile then her eyes flickered over to the door behind Ginny and her smile grew wider. "Lord Davis," she greeted, going around Ginny to greet their clients.

Ginny had known exactly who to expect at this meeting. It was Lord Geoffrey Davis, his assistant Katherine Smyth, the Administrative Manager Thomas Gable and their Director of Museum Technology Harry Potter. Ginny knew who Lord Davis was, and his assistant was obviously the woman, but she wasn't sure which of the other gentleman was Thomas Gable and which was Harry Potter, the two of them looked rather alike, except one of them was closer to her age and had a set of gorgeous green eyes behind his tasteful dark framed glasses.

"This is my assistant Ginevra Weasley," Miranda introduced.

Ginny shook hands with Lord Davis before greeting Miss Smyth. "We spoke on the phone. Nice to put a face to the voice."

"It is! Call me Katie, please."

"And I go by Ginny." She shook hands with the two other gentleman, noting that the younger one was Harry Potter, it made more sense that he was the Technology Director given his age and the museum hierarchy.

They all took seats and started discussing pleasantries. Throughout the interactions Ginny was doing her best not to simply let her eyes settle on Mister Potter because every time that she did look over at him he was staring directly back at her as though he found her captivating. It was both flattering to be given that amount of attention and jarring because it was forcing her not to display just how flustered he was making her feel inside.

He had barely uttered a word, he simply sat there looking at her as she and Miranda launched into their pitch of why they deserved to have a tenth of The British Museums advertising budget for the next five years.

It was near the end of the meeting that they launched into the discussion of the online advertising and Mister Potter needed to give them the scope of their investment into technology and different avenues they were interested in dipping into, such as Facebook.

Ginny was the one to assure him that they did do their own advertising through social media sites and reminded him that it was not their key demographic that visited those site.

Through their back and forth she saw this twinkle in his eye and smile tugging to his lips, even when she was telling him why his want of reaching the youth through those sites was not the way to pull them in, how they would only be interested in the museum as an event space and they'd be better off to host a celebrity wedding there instead.

The laugh that he gave at that suggestion sent a shockwave through her body.

It was a 'heh heh'.

One that she'd heard several times before.

Her eyes locked hard on his as she felt the blood drain from her face and she fought to keep her composure and carry on with the meeting. But it was difficult. She'd heard that laugh nearly every night for a year.

His voice.

She needed him to talk more.

She hadn't been paying enough attention to his voice before, just to what words he was speaking out of that lovely mouth of his. Online the voice was a little bit different but that laugh of his was exactly what she'd heard every time she made a sarcastic comment.

"That wouldn't be a terrible idea," Katie agreed. "We live in a society of gossip mongers, having a celebrity wedding or something similar would have several of those busy bodies scrambling to see the space that it happened in." She scribbled furiously in her notebook then.

"We have had Her Majesty the Queen come through on several occasions," Lord Davis pointed out.

"Yes, but she has been everywhere," Ginny pointed out, managing to compose herself after her initial shock save for a numb feeling in her right fingers. "If you managed to hold the next round of the X Factor in your auditorium however, that would have several youths flocking there."

Ginny hid her hand under the table and started flexing her fingers.

He'd simply laughed the same laugh as The Seeker, that doesn't mean he _is_ The Seeker.

Yet when she caught his eyes again he looked like he knew and he knew that she knew. And she had to catch her breath again.

Ginny struggled through the rest of the meeting but in the end it appeared that she and Miranda had really given The British Museum team something they were very interested in. They all shook hands one more time and Miranda gave her kudo's for her work, leaving her to tidy up the conference room. That was when she saw that Mister Potter had left his portfolio on the chair next to the one he'd been sitting in.

Had he done that intentionally? Looking for a reason to come back and see her alone?

For a minute she simply stared at it trying to work out if it might have been a ploy.

"There it is," came his voice from behind her and she jumped.

"Oh! Yes, I was going to rush it out to you," she told him in a hurry.

"Were you? It looked like you were more confused by it," he grinned at her and she melted a little bit.

"Confused by how intentionally it was left," Ginny stated boldly.

His grin widened. "I recognized your voice right away. Always with that hurried manner and decisiveness."

Ginny could do no more than blink at him. He was confirming her suspicion. "The Seeker," she said in barely a whisper.

"Good," his form relaxed. "Was worried for a moment that I could have been completely wrong and you'd just think I was some sort of leering idiot through that whole meeting."

An involuntary chuckle rose up out of her. "For the first bit mainly. It helps that you're," she gestured to his whole form before her brain caught up with her mouth and she realized what she'd just done. She'd admitted to him that she found him attractive.

He was her closest friend outside of work and now she'd just gone and done that.

Was it going to be weird playing with him now?

He looked flattered by it though. Relieved even. "I've been trying to picture what you might look like as well and I must say, I didn't do you justice."

She felt her whole face flush at that and she looked down at the paperwork in her hand as she bit her lip. Flattery had always made her bashful, particularly if it was sincere as that had sounded.

"Can we meet in person again?" he forwardly asked.

The question came out of him in a rush but she caught every word. She looked back up at him and tried to figure out if this was a friendly request of something a little more.

"I know you had a crap date just on Friday. Maybe I could try and, erm, make that up to you a bit."

She couldn't help the wide grin that was now threatening to break her face in two. It was something more than friendly. "I'd like that," she managed in a whisper.

"Great," he breathed out. "Uh, look. I've got to go but we'll talk more later? Tonight?"

Goodness he has such beautiful and expressive eyes.

"Same time as always," she promised.

It looked for a moment like he might have wanted to lean in and give her a hug or a kiss on the cheek or something. Instead he just rocked on his heels for a moment and then gave her another smile and a nod, taking his portfolio and leaving.

Ginny was walking on air as she finished cleaning up the conference room and went back to her desk, a goofy smile not leaving her face for even a moment.

"What's got into you?" Stacy asked.

"Just a really great meeting," Ginny told her. "And if the offer is still on for you to mind Liam on Friday I'd like to take you up on it."

Stacy's eyes went wide as she caught on to what that meant. "Tell me everything."

()()()

Ginny had never tried Bao before. He'd mentioned it to her a few times over their headsets but she'd never tried it.

"This is delicious," she exclaimed after swallowing the first bite. She had to force herself not to simply shove the rest of it in her mouth. It was this sweet doughy bun with some kind of pulled pork on top of it. Simple really, but so freaking good.

"I knew you'd like it," he smiled across the high top at her.

She hadn't been sure how to dress for this date when he told her 'casual and comfortable'. Ginny hadn't done 'casual and comfortable' on dates, they had always been to stuffy restaurants with French sauces. He knew that though and told her as much. He'd also said that she hadn't had any fun on the previous dates that he knew about so he was going to at least attempt to make it so she still wanted to talk to him the next day.

That had made her laugh out loud.

Skinny jeans, boots with a low heal and a cowl necked sweater had her blended right in with everyone else in this tiny restaurant with the high turn over in customers.

"You were so right," she shook her head in amazement. "I don't know how I've gone twenty-three years without having this in my life."

"Perks of having to schmooze with several international types," he commented, holding up his Bao to cheers her own.

They met up at a tube station for the date. She wasn't sure she wanted him knowing where she lived just yet. Liam was over at Stacy's for his sleepover and he'd been completely keen on the idea as Stacy's son was a year older than Liam and that made him cool. Harry was flexible with when the date was going to be as well since he knew she had that responsibility to take care of.

Harry checked his watch, "we've got twenty minutes till the play."

"Play?" Ginny asked as she took another bite.

"At The Globe," he told her. "Haven't got a clue what they're putting on right now, but that's half the fun!"

Her eyebrows rose in interest. It had been ages since she'd been to The Globe for a play. It was only five quid to watch from the theatre floor, and that was where you wanted to be since the actors would do part of the performance while weaving in and around the audience.

After they'd finished up their food they started walking towards the theatre and talked the whole way. Really talked, not the veiled questions that they asked in WoW with vague answers so that they didn't give away any more details about their personal life than necessary.

Harry had led an interesting life, which is exactly what he said of her own. He'd grown up with his Aunt and Uncle after his parents died in a car crash. They'd been nice to him but had noticeably favored their own son. They hadn't been able to help him out through school and he'd been driven to prove himself so he studied what he thought would make him the most money straight away. It had been a move to attempt to prove to his relatives that he was better than their son. After his first year of uni though he realized he didn't need to prove anything to them and found himself really enjoying his courses. He worked part time at The British Museum through school and during the summers he was a guide. Once he finished with his education he was hired on full time and as the tech industry was evolving so fast he wound up getting promoted fairly quickly.

"I guess the both of us have more than proven ourselves," he grinned down at her as they stood in the queue outside the theatre.

"How do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I mean, you've done a more inspiring job, what with defying all the assumptions of single teen mothers and building this great life and career for yourself."

"It was super hard," she said in reflection.

"Is it still?" he asked curiously. "Or have you more fallen into a routine that you're both comfortable with?"

"Routine I guess," she agreed. "I get all the challenges and inspiration I need through work, then I come home and have my time spent with Liam that brings me down from the day, then I finish off with chatting to you nearly every night. It is comfortable. There's a rare occasion where I'm wishing for a little more."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Like, well, this," she gestured to the theatre. "Just going for a fun night out and trying to know what it feels like to be an unburdened woman my age, not worrying about if he's doing alright through the whole thing."

"Are you worrying about him now?"

"I'm always worrying about him. But you are doing a great job of taking my mind of it," she told him bashfully.

Harry grinned down at her.

The Globe Theatre was packed and the two of them grew more sandwiched against each other as the actors began making their way through the crowd.

Ginny was pressed right against Harry's side and his arm came around her, resting on her hip. When he asked if that was okay by whispering it in her ear she felt something she hadn't felt in a long time; desire.

She had not been searching for a romantic attachment since she was sixteen and that had blown up in her face. It left her with the most precious gift, but she hadn't been at all focused on finding a partner since, that had been everyone else's goal for her. Each date she'd been bullied into had left her jaded, they had simply been experiences she could turn into anecdotes for coworkers or The Seeker.

Now there was Harry and he was pressed right up against her side, his arm was protectively around her and he was whispering into her ear with that soft voice of his that she had grown to love and it was sending a wave of pleasure through her whole body.

She nodded to let him know that he was more than welcome to keep his hands on her. His arm tightened around her slightly at her permission and she wrapped her own arm around him too.

Ginny only half paid attention to the show going on. She was more interested in pulling up scenarios in her mind of where this date might lead. She could picture them walking out of the theatre and going for a stroll along the Thames, then they would say goodnight at one point and he would lean in for a tentative kiss, but when he pulled back she would simply pull him closer. Soon they would be full on snogging against the closest hard surface, be it a wall or a tree. He'd beg her to come back to his and she'd cave because her lady business would be demanding it. They'd get back to his place and all clothes would immediately wind up on the floor then they'd shag until dawn.

As that scene played out in her mind she lost all focus on what was going on with the show and was surprised when everyone in the theatre started leaving. Harry was guiding her towards the exit and she hadn't even caught the gist of what the play had been about.

"Did you enjoy it?" Harry asked once they were back outside.

"I did," she assured him. It only sounded believable because she was referring to the close proximity they'd shared instead of the entertainment.

"The weather is rather agreeable," he pointed out. "I was planning on stopping into a pub if it wasn't, but did you want to go for a lazy stroll instead?"

A stroll along the Thames is what he was suggesting? Just like her pretend scenario? Yes, please.

"Sure," she managed.

So they wandered and Harry told her about all the short business trips he had to take to mainland Europe to different museums and conventions. Ginny had only got to go to one convention in France when she was relatively new into her job and it had been an eye opener to realize it wasn't so much about the speeches but the mingling after.

"And the amount of affairs that go on!" she told him. "I couldn't believe it. It was like 'whatever happens at the convention, stays at the convention'. I saw two well known people that were each heading into their second decade of marriage to other people falling over each other and not being covert about it at all!"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, seen a bit of that as well. Was heading down to use the gym in the morning on my last trip and saw someone I work with heading out of another's hotel room. She was looking well embarrassed so I didn't say anything."

"Not your thing though?" Ginny asked.

"I had enough of that in my uni days. Not interested in one offs anymore."

He was looking at her when he said it. She knew that he hadn't been seeing anyone for nearly a year now and his last relationship had fizzled to the point of them barely acknowledging they were in a relationship. Not that either had cheated, so far as Harry knew, but it was at the point of him forgetting when the last time was he'd chatted with her.

"So then, this thing we're doing here," she started.

"I get upset and worry that I won't hear from you on the nights that Liam requires a bit of extra attention in order to go to sleep," he told her boldly. "And I was very glad that your date went poorly last week because I worried that if it did then I wouldn't hear from you as much."

He was putting everything out there.

"The scariest part of finding you in real life is that I might mess something up between us and we just won't be able to recover," she said honestly.

"When I stepped into that meeting on Monday and saw you for the first time I was instantly attracted to you. When you started talking and I heard your voice, recognized your voice, I was completely blown away." They had stopped walking and he'd come closer to her so that there was only a whisper of space between them. "I don't want to ruin our friendship, but I also _really_ want to give this a try."

"I do to," she admitted as she leaned forwards so they were pressing ever so lightly against each other.

His hand came up to cup her cheek and her eyes slipped closed as his face came down so their lips could meet in a sweet and gentle kiss. It was tentative and warm and had her hands quivering as they grasped the front of his jacket. Slowly the kiss progressed into more.

The evening did not turn into her fantasy though.

He gave her a brilliant snog but left her wanting more as they said their goodnight at the tube station with the promise of catching up tomorrow night at their usual place and time.

()()()

Ginny didn't want to pawn Liam off for one night every weekend, but boy was she tempted to. She and Harry still caught up nearly every evening through playing WoW and that had now progressed into them trading texts throughout the day but they had yet to manage meeting up again and it had been two weeks since their date.

"Another Friday night, and you know what the rest of the world is doing?" The Seeker asked. Ginny could hear the smile in his voice.

"Not slaying dragons?" she offered as she raised her sword and slashed before dodging falling rubble and jumping down a level in the castle they were raiding.

He gave a laugh, "no. Not slaying dragons. They're getting up to real trouble. Putting themselves out there and making bad decisions that turn out to be brilliant."

"What you're saying is that you want to put yourself out there and turn up at my door with a bottle of wine so we can make a bad decision together?" she asked demurely.

That suggestion was met with silence on his end and his character has stopped fighting, just standing there frozen. They'd been doing quite a lot of flirting back and forth these two weeks since their date and every time she'd signed off for the night she'd been left wanting more.

"Is… is that an option?" he asked quietly.

Ginny had to think for a moment if it truly was an option or not. Did she want him coming around to her flat? Could she entertain him in the living room while Liam slept just a door away? She hadn't ever done that before. She'd had study sessions held at hers while she was in uni, but Liam had been much younger then and it hadn't been a romantic interlude, it had been statistics and business management strategies.

She desperately wanted to see Harry again though if only to make sure that she was still as attracted to him as she had been the last two times they'd seen each other.

Quickly and before she could change her mind she grabbed her cellphone and texted him her address, then set it back down feeling slightly sick with nerves.

She knew he got the message when a moment later his character was offline.

He was coming over.

It was only 9:30 at night, it wasn't late at all for a Friday. The clubs wouldn't have even started picking up at this point so having a suitor over at her flat for a glass of wine this early in the evening wasn't entirely racy.

But her flat wasn't entirely clean either.

"Bugger!" she said out loud and shut down her computer before she raced around picking up all the little pieces of Lego and stuffies that were strewn here, there and everywhere. She did a quick sweep of the entire place, including a wipe down of the loo, in record timing.

There was a man coming over.

It was twenty minutes for there to be a knock at the door. Ginny didn't know where exactly Harry lived, but getting anywhere in London in twenty minutes required serious dedication to that task.

She opened the door and saw him standing on the other side, not at all dressed for the occasion but with a bottle of wine in hand. "I was already half-way here before I realized I was in this shirt. Please don't judge," he stated with a pained expression.

She couldn't help herself. He looked so out of breath and eager to see her that she didn't want to play this game anymore. They already knew each other, their first date had been like jumping in at date number ten in this relationship of theirs. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and brought her mouth to his as she yanked him inside her flat.

He was kissing her back right away and she managed to shut the door and set the wine bottle down on the closest flat surface with their mouths still connected and she guided him further into her living room and back to the couch.

"Mmm, Ginny," he started.

"Shh," she didn't want them to be loud and in the dead silence of her flat his deep voice was very loud to her ears.

"Ginny," he said in a whisper against her lips. "I didn't just come over for this."

She pulled back from him then in shock and gave a hard swallow. "You don't want to?" Her heart was sinking into her stomach. Had she just made an absolute fool of herself?

"Oh God I want to," he told her desperately. "But I'm really trying to be respectful here. I've, er, I've been, you know, reading up on our situation."

"Our situation?" she asked. "What, meeting online and then in person? I'm pretty sure that is quite common place these days."

He blinked at her. "What? No. I mean, er, you being a single mother and probably not wanting to introduce me to Liam until we're, you know, further along. Which means you probably won't want me to stick around until morning just in case and I really don't want to push things too much because I really like you."

Ginny stared at him as his words sunk in. "You looked up the psychology of a single mother?"

"Er, yes?" There was quite a bit of red coloring his cheeks.

She hadn't been thinking about Liam accidentally stumbling upon them, nor about whether Harry would still be there in the morning. She'd just seen Harry standing there and wanted him.

"So you didn't come over here in the hopes of a shag?" It wasn't a question that needed to be asked, there was a small nudge she felt against her thigh at the word that told her he did want a shag.

He must have known she felt that. He sat up and they both moved to lean back against the couch facing each other. "I really want to be here," he managed to get out. "I don't want to leave, but I don't want to do anything that could upset your life."

He was trying to be respectful and she could appreciate that but she would also have appreciated him ripping her clothes off and being perfectly stationed between her legs as well.

"Wine," she said. "I'll go grab the bottle and some glasses." She moved quickly back towards the kitchen by the front door and willed herself to calm her hormones down. She fought back a snort. Red wine probably wasn't going to allow for either of them to cool down their hormones.

Carrying the bottle and the glasses back to the couch she sat down opposite him again and poured the wine holding her glass in front of her like a shield and she looked at him. He looked so good and like he belonged in her flat. The shirt he was so embarrassed to have been wearing was worn and comfortable looking she could already imagine herself stealing it for a night shirt. Ginny wasn't familiar with the band that it was advertising.

"Who are they?" she asked, her eyes pointedly looking down at the graphic design.

"Oh," he looked down at it. "They're an American band. They had one hit that played on the radio. It was a cover song but it was good enough that I bought their CD, then I realized I liked all their other songs better. I play them in the kitchen while I'm cooking most of the time. Good rhythm, great lyrics."

Ginny nodded and struggled to find something else to talk to him about.

They knew each other well but somehow him sitting in her flat across from her looking like he wished he hadn't stopped himself from carrying on a few minutes ago was making her draw a big blank over what they could talk about.

"Have you lived here long?" he asked clearly searching for something they could talk about as hard as she was.

Ginny just grinned at him then and set her wine glass down before moving his to the coffee table as well. "You might not want to push things too far or whatever, but I'd really rather snog you right now."

"Oh thank God," he breathed out and pulled her back against him by the waist.

()()()

"Mmm, I like your place," she murmured between kisses as they worked their way through his flat.

"Yeah, you want a tour?" he asked as his lips worked their way down her neck and he continued directing her further into the flat and towards his bedroom.

Technically they'd been dating for over a month at this point. He'd gone over to her place twice in the evening after her son had gone to bed but they hadn't allowed their hands to travel below the belt yet. It was at his instance and he was a stupid, stupid man for having put on the brakes. She hadn't asked him to stop so why did he?

Because he liked her.

A lot.

That was the answer he'd given her every evening when they met up playing WoW, he was trying to be respectful and she'd had enough of that. Liam had gone back to her parent's place for the weekend and she wanted to spend every minute of her free time with Harry.

She wasn't interested in waiting any more. She would have insisted that they skip dinner and just go straight back to his if it wouldn't have made her come across as desperate. So instead she'd suffered through dinner, well, not suffered as it was delicious, but the whole time they'd been sitting in the restaurant she'd had a need building between her legs.

Now they were back here. He'd asked if she wanted to catch a movie after they'd left the restaurant and she nearly gave a laugh/growl in his face. He took the hint. By the time they got to the other side of the door to his flat she couldn't stop herself from pouncing on him.

Ginny gave a laugh at his offer of a tour. "Sure, do you want to shag on the sofa or in the bedroom?"

He gave only a desire filled groan as a response.

Their clothes were slowly stripped away as he wound them through his place and she only caught glimpses of this and that before she was laying back on a soft mattress. She had anticipated this and consulted many a women's magazine for what was now the trend in terms of female grooming and what men like and respond to. She'd also heard her brothers mention on several occasions that they didn't rightly care about all that so long as they got laid. That didn't stop her from putting in some effort and having to get a little acrobatic in the shower earlier.

It was only the street lights below that were illuminating the room through his blinds though and Harry certainly wasn't standing back and observing her handiwork. Instead his lips were trailing down her chest, his hand tugging down her knickers and had her panting and squirming. His mouth met the dip by her hip bone and her eyes opened wide as she realized what he was about to do.

She'd never had a mans mouth on her there!

Slowly his kisses were trailing lower and her legs were moving apart of their own accord and then he was _there_. Jolts of pleasure kept cascading over her entire body as his mouth worked over her clit. The sensation was incredible and her head was thrown back as she clutched at his pillows, trying to control herself somehow.

He knew what he was doing too! His tongue ran over her in just the right way again and again, both his hands were occupied with her breasts and there were sounds escaping her mouth that she hadn't known she could make.

With how wanton she'd been before it wasn't taking her long to reach her climax and she cried out. His mouth stayed where it was between her legs as she slowly came down from her high, his tongue moving down slightly to trace more lazy circles around her entrance and it added so much more to the experience.

Her heart rate was starting to return to normal when he began moving back up her body. His lips met hers and there was a different taste on them now. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't too appealing either.

He still had his boxers on and she needed them off right now. Her hand slipped underneath the waistband and her fingers wrapped around his length. He gave a small grunt as she began moving her hand up and down. He was so warm and the skin there so soft.

Now it was her turn to move her kisses down his frame and he rolled onto his back to allow her to do so. He had a very nice amount of chest hair, not too thick and not completely covering his chest. Her nerves began getting to her the lower down his frame she moved. She'd never done this before. He probably didn't know that though.

It was with determination and a slightly shaking hand that she made it to her destination and directed the tip of him toward her mouth. Tentatively she took a lick. It didn't taste like anything. This time she lowered her mouth over the head as her hand stroked his shaft up and down and that too didn't really taste of anything, but it did make Harry give off several sounds of pleasure.

Giving head wasn't so bad. She'd seen it done plenty in pornography, always ending in that awful way of the man exploding all over the woman's face, that bit she certainly wasn't going to do. She also didn't feel compelled to make those terrible choking noises, then again she wasn't sliding him as deep into her mouth as the girl on film did.

Clearly he was enjoying it and kept saying her name in a whisper again and again. Now growing louder in warning of what was about to happen. Sure enough there was a sudden excess of fluid in her mouth that was mingling with her own saliva and she managed to swallow it all down.

Huh.

Ginny felt rather proud of herself for successfully doing that for the first time.

She kept working at him gently until he grew limp in her hand and she let him go, kissing her way back up his body to lay beside him.

That hadn't been the shagging she had anticipated but the night was young and thus far had been thoroughly enjoyable.

"That was wonderful," he sighed.

"You're telling me," she agreed.

He rolled to his side and pulled her close. "I just need a minute to recover, I promise you we aren't done yet though."

Ginny grinned and settled back against him as she savored the feeling of having his naked flesh pressed up against her own.

When she awoke the next morning she found herself in the most relaxed state she could ever remember being. And her nose had caught the smell of coffee and bacon.

Harry had not only taken care of her three times last night but now he was making her breakfast? This was heaven.

Getting out of his bed she found her clothes from last night and was about to put them on when he walked in holding two plates in one arm and a steaming coffee mug in the other. "You aren't getting dressed already, are you?"

She held her dress up to her front in an attempt at modesty and grinned at him. "Well I had expected we were eating in the other room."

"We aren't," he grinned. Harry was only dressed in a pair of boxers and inclined his head back at the bed in a request for her to get back under the covers.

She tried to hide her form as much as possible by dropping the dress as she lifted the sheets to slide herself under them. Harry, ever the gentleman, merely looked down at the plates he had set on the bed and pretended he hadn't been watching her out the corner of his eyes.

On the nightstand beside him beside where he'd set down his coffee was proof of their activity the night before. Two ripped foil packets sporting the word Trojan had yet to be disposed of.

Two!

They'd had sex twice. Actual sex and not just the kind that was considered foreplay in some circles.

That was double the amount she'd ever had before. Liam had been a result of her first and only experience. Now she knew the joy of sex was a real thing because Harry had certainly made it a joyous experience. He'd been so tender and yet firm with her. He'd made sure that she was enjoying herself and boy did she enjoy herself.

"Now then. Liam is at his grandparents for one more night, so what would you like to do?" Harry asked.

Ginny just gave him a slow grin and bit her lip.

()()()

**Four Years Later**

The sun felt so wonderful on her skin. This was the perfect place to go for their honeymoon. What had really sold her on it were all the kids activities that Liam was rearing to try. It meant that he could be off doing his thing with the other kids on one end of the resort and she and Harry could be locked in their room taking part in activities of their own through the day. They'd made a nice routine of it; wave farewell to Liam at breakfast then boot it back to the room for a round or two, or three, before heading to the beach.

A full week of this in the southern coast of Portugal was wonderful.

"You're going to burn," Harry said in warning before his heavily moisturized hands were rubbing more sunscreen on her shoulders and working their way down her arms and back up to graze over her chest.

"You know I have the spray kind," she said with a smile.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Many times she'd found herself staring at Harry and wondering if he would have asked her out after that meeting over four years ago if she had never started playing World of Warcraft somewhat obsessively. It had been a while since either of them had logged back onto the game. Before she and Liam had moved in with Harry the two of them had still played in the evenings as a way of catching up with each other. Once they lived together their evenings consisted more of wine and cuddling on the sofa to watch the telly.

It didn't take long for Harry to become one of Liam's favorite people either.

Ginny could still remember the first time Liam had called Harry 'dad'. She'd been in the kitchen getting their dinner together and Harry had been helping Liam with a science project and it had just slipped out of his mouth so naturally. Liam had been nine at the time and when Ginny heard it her eyes shot over to gauge Harry's reaction to that. He had a soft smile on his face and gave her son an adoring look. Ginny herself nearly burst into tears she was so happy and immediately started chopping onions as a cover.

Yes, they had been living together at that point but it was then she knew that she wanted to marry him. Liam had given his seal of approval and that was it for Ginny.

It took the man another eleven months to finally ask her though.

"So, what's next?" Ginny asked him while she sat back and enjoyed his massage that had migrated down to her legs.

"A sibling for Liam," Harry said bluntly.

"What?!" Ginny's eyes popped open and she looked down at her husband of five days.

They'd talked about having kids eventually. Harry said he loved Liam but he wanted to go through the parenthood experience and one that involved changing nappies, one that had she and he arguing over who's turn it was for the midnight feeding. She hadn't expected he wanted to start that on the honeymoon though.

Harry was down at her feet now and working his fingers through her toes while his thumbs were rubbing the pads. This must have been his plan. Get her to a tropical wonderland and wait until she was the most relaxed she could possibly be and then suggest they get her knocked up.

"You want to put a baby in me?" she asked.

"Please?" he asked with a dorky and sheepish grin that she couldn't help but love.

Her own grin forced its way onto her face and she lay back down on the chaise with her head shaking side to side in amusement. "I'll stop taking the pill today then."

Three weeks later the stick in the bathroom confirmed that she had been pregnant before they'd left the resort.

**()()()**

**AN- Still working my way through prompts, just getting distracted by shiny things lately :)**


	36. Centerfold

**This is a prompt from a guest reader who wanted to see something about a Stay-At-Home Harry. Ginny goes back to work after Lily Luna is a year old, Teddy is living with them and Harry, whilst doing his household duties, stumbles across his Godson's reading material. **

**()()()**

**Centerfold**

**()()()**

Socks, socks, James' underpants, Lily's undershirt, Albus' trousers, Teddy's shirt, sock, sock, my God there are so many socks in this load of laundry. Having six people in the house really did create exponential amounts of dirty clothes.

Harry was sorting through the clean clothes in his basket and making piles for each member but the socks were always left until last so that he could pair them up properly. He liked sorting the laundry, it was weird, sure, but he liked making sure that his kids all had clothes in good repair and they were all items that fit them properly. He had grown up never having anything that fit right and it was a point of pride for him to be able to give his kids this little bit of normalcy.

Ginny and he agreed on that. She was glad that James and Albus weren't forced to wear cast offs from Teddy or one of their cousins, they could have their own new clothes that were purchased specifically for them. And Lily wasn't resigned to wearing something that Ginny had stitched together from the boys clothes and made into something girly.

Harry loved Ginny's parents and thought they had done a wonderful job raising their kids but Harry and Ginny both were on the same page about clothes for their brood; good condition and properly fitted.

After matching up all the socks Harry piled everything back into the basket, Teddy's clothes, James and Albus' on top of that then Lily's on top of those so that he didn't have to sort through them all as he went room to room and put everything away.

He had sorted everything in his and Ginny's room on their king-sized bed. He loved the size of their mattress. They'd got it when they found out about James, the assumption being that once their child was big enough to climb out of his crib the two of them would need space for the little one to climb in with them. Now they had four kids living in the house and there had been a few nights where the king-sized bed didn't cut it and Harry had to sleep on the floor.

He could have just as easily gone into one of the other three bedrooms in the house and lain down there when the kids kicked him out of his own, but he preferred to stay in his own bedroom with them. Ginny always woke and found him on the floor and lay down with him, adding to his cushioning charm when she did so.

It had been a while since they all kicked him out of bed. Every now and then one of them would have a night terror and come in search of comfort, but soon Teddy would be off to his third year of Hogwarts and it would be the epitome of uncool to bunk up with your pseudo parents now. James and Albus were in primary school already and Harry had found Albus in his brothers bed more often than he climbed in with he and Ginny now. Lily hardly came to find them at all in the night anymore but did come to lay with them when it was morning time by her opinion, still dark outside though, and lay with them yammering away until one or both of them were resigned to start their day.

Harry carried the basket out the bedroom and strained his ears to hear what was going on downstairs. The sounds that echoed back to him were of the boys watching some animated movie about superhero's and Lily singing softly to herself from the television room while she played with her blocks.

Getting a television had been a great idea.

Ginny had stayed home from Christmas of 2003 when she was in the middle of her pregnancy with James up until Lily was a year old. She'd missed out on six years worth of Quidditch staying home with the kids, which she loved, but by the time Lily was a year old Harry could tell Ginny was worried she would never be able to get back into playing Quidditch professionally if she didn't go back by the time she was thirty. So instead Harry left his job and stayed home with their brood.

He'd gotten a lot of razzing from his brothers'-in-law. They laughed at him, saying that Ginny would be the one wearing the pants in the family. Harry threw it right back in their faces saying at least he had the option of not putting pants on in the morning.

Being an Auror hadn't been as dangerous a job for the last several years he'd been one but there were still situations that came up that had been very dangerous. It hadn't been such a hard call for Harry to make. Being home with the kids meant that he got all the time he wanted with them. He could be the father he wished he'd had.

More often than not they drove him up the wall when it was all four of him home, which was part of the reason he'd purchased the television; It was a bit of relief throughout the day to simply set them in front of a program until he had the time and mental faculties to get them occupied otherwise and the kids all loved it. Now that Teddy was at Hogwarts most of the year and the two boys were in primary Lily got to watch her color and counting shows while Harry had a kip on the sofa.

Not such a bad situation.

Harry put Lily's clothes away then moved on to James and Albus' room. Teddy had said he didn't mind if James moved into his room and he could bunk with Albus when he came home from school but the two youngest didn't yet want to be separated.

Teddy had moved in permanently with them not long after James had been born. His grandmother, Andromeda, was happy to keep him but she was getting older and having Teddy around James had been like he had a real sibling of his own. According to Ginny Teddy had been damned useful too, he'd fascinated each of their babies in turn with his funny faces and changing hair. It was like having a built-in babysitter. Teddy still had visits over to his grandmother's house and she came over for dinner about once a month but everyone was happy with this set-up.

The boys room was a mess, as per usual, but at least they knew where their dirty clothes hamper was and it was simply LEGO that had been strewn all over the place. Come to think of it actually, the clothes would hurt his foot less if he accidentally stepped on them.

Navigating through the mess of toys he got the boys clothes put away in their drawers and made his way to Teddy's room.

Bracing himself before entering the room Harry took one deep breath outside the door.

On the whole Teddy was good about his hygiene, but he didn't notice when the scent of teenage boy was getting a bit much for the space.

Harry placed the basket down on the unmade bed and went for the window to open it and air the space out. When he turned back around he noticed something poking out from between the mattress and box spring. There was a magazine tucked in there. He had gone over to lift up the mattress and pry it out before he could stop for a moment and think that it might be an invasion of Teddy's privacy to do it. The thought pattern simply hadn't happened that linked a partially hidden object in the room of a thirteen-year-old boy.

By the time the item was in his hand though Harry realized he probably should have left it where it was.

It was a dirty magazine.

A magical dirty magazine; the pictures were moving. A buxom brunette was sat down on her heels, her one arm covering her heavy breasts and the other waving at Harry while she sported a coy look on her face.

His jaw dropped and eyes grew wide.

Teddy had pornography in his bedroom? Where had he even picked this up? When?

Harry's mind was thrown back to when he was thirteen. He hadn't been much invested in girls at that time but he remembered Seamus being quite the horn dog. There was a poster that Seamus had pinned up under the canopy of his bed that would look down at him while he slept. The first time Harry remembered seeing a dirty magazine it had belonged to Dudley. The two of them were sixteen when Harry saw it and he remembered it causing him to spend a few hours alone in his bedroom with his hand under the sheets.

Teddy was at that point in his development already?

That meant he needed to have a serious talk with him about the birds and the bee's.

There was a sinking sensation in Harry's belly at that thought. It meant that Harry was getting old. Teddy was already a teenager and thinking about girls in that way, which meant Harry had to teach him certain spells and let him know that he was there for him.

It had been Arthur Weasley that wound up having that conversation with Harry when he was a teenager. It had been the summer after Sirius had passed and Harry and Ron both had Arthur come into Ron's room and sit them down to tell them about the spells they needed to stop unwanted pregnancies from happening.

Clearly Arthur and Ron had no idea that the first time Harry would use those spells would be with Ginny. Of course Harry didn't know then either.

The memory of Harry and Ginny's first time using the contraceptive spells popped into Harry's head. It had been Hogwarts, only about seven or so hours after Voldemort had fallen. The two of them had said nothing when they ran into each other in the kitchen. The kitchen had been completely abandoned by House Elves and everyone else, it was just the two of them trying to get something to eat. The next thing Harry knew they were atop the model of the Ravenclaw table and shagging each other. He'd only realized after they'd started eating ice cream again that they hadn't used the spells and it had been the first thing said aloud throughout the whole experience.

Teddy was only thirteen though, wasn't that a bit young for him to be given 'the talk'?

Opening the magazine before him he saw a number of women that were on full frontal display; some were touching themselves, some where spinning around on a stripper pole. As he continued to flip the pages he felt a stirring in his trousers and gave a hard swallow. The pictures were rather stimulating.

Now he couldn't help wondering what time Ginny was due to get home today and if they might be able to steal away from the kids for a quickie before dinner.

Closing the magazine before he got too enraptured by what was there he hesitated over whether he should put it back where he found it and let Teddy keep it or if he should take it away and let Teddy know that it had been discovered.

That could be a very awkward conversation…

He flipped the pages open again and saw a full two page spread near the end that had a woman spread eagle on a bed that was licking something off one of her fingers suggestively and there was another twitch in Harry's trousers.

He stared in awe as the woman in the photo gave her fingers a thorough lick and her hips rocked suggestively.

After a minute Harry came back to himself. He was in his Godson's room staring at pornography. Making a decision he tucked the magazine back between the mattress and box spring enough that it wasn't poking out anymore and put the rest of Teddy's clothes away. The whole time he was properly sorting clothes into the dresser Harry was picturing what he could get up to with his wife that evening. It had been a while since they'd done anything a little adventurous in the bedroom.

Carrying the empty laundry basket back to the master bedroom his option for popping into the master bathroom to take the edge off his arousal was taken away from him when Lily called up the stairs that she was hungry.

Four more hours Harry had situations playing out in the back of his mind about his wife laying back on their bed in only her birthday suit with her fingers in her mouth or standing up on it and doing a little dance for him. Try as he did to push the images out of his mind while he was occupying the kids they kept creeping back in there.

By the time Ginny got home he was about ready to pounce on her and throw up locking and silencing charms on their bedroom for a half hour.

Ginny's work was slightly exhausting for her though and she did not look in the mood to expel any more energy just then. She came through the door and greeted each of the kids and finally made her way to him while he was getting dinner ready. The kiss that she gave him he could tell was meant to be brief; simply a greeting at the end of her day. She went to pull back but he kept her there, pressed her tighter against him and made sure she knew where his mind was at just then. The bulge in his trousers against her was also a clear indicator that his mind was not solely on the meal he was preparing.

Ginny kept her arms around him and leaned into the kiss, pulling back and raising her eyebrows in response to what she felt pressed up against her lower belly. "Been missing me, have you?"

"Been thinking about you all day," he said in a low voice as he kissed down her exposed neck.

"Oh really?" she asked in intrigue and moved her head more to the side to give him better access.

"I think you need a shower Mrs. Potter," her growled at her and pulled her tighter against him.

"Harry," she started.

"Kids are all watching the television until dinner is ready. We have ten minutes until I need to get back downstairs. I can do all manner of things to you in ten minutes," he promised her.

"You don't want to wait until they all go to bed?" she chuckled.

"Don't you worry, I'm going to take good care of you then as well," he assured her.

Fifteen minutes later Harry snuck back downstairs feeling smug and relieved. Shower sex was not something he and Ginny got up to very often, in fact it had been years since they'd attempted it.

His body was much more relaxed now but his brain was still conjuring up exactly what he wanted to do with her later. That dirty magazine had given him an idea about what they could get up to and having just taken the edge off a minute ago was allowing him to think he could carry through with the idea as well.

A few weeks ago he'd taken the kids to a Muggle diner for lunch as a treat and the breakfast supplies on the table hadn't been cleared away yet; sugar, napkin rolled cutlery and the single serving breakfast condiments. Harry had snagged a few of the single serving breakfast condiments before the server had come over and cleared the items off their table. He'd had this idea in his head of what he wanted to use them for, but life had gotten in the way. Now he checked to make sure they were still in the cupboard where he left them. They were, he closed the cupboard door and went back to the stove to take up the pasta dish he'd made and plate it out for everyone with a pleased smile on his face.

All through dinner and the two hours after before they started getting their young one's ready for bed Harry was thinking about those five little packets of breakfast condiments and then looking over at his wife, pulling up what she'd look like later splayed out on their bed.

Ginny took Lily to bed to read her a story and a half hour later Harry started getting James and Albus ready for bed.

"You'll go to bed at a reasonable time, yeah?" Harry asked Teddy after the other ones were tucked in. There was no specific reason why Teddy would have to get up before noon the next day, he could be trusted to stay at the house by himself if Harry wanted to take the other three on an outing, but it was nice having him at breakfast with the rest of them.

"I'm just going to watch this one movie and then I'll go to bed, promise," Teddy responded distractedly and took another sip of his soda.

More than likely Harry was going to find Teddy still on the couch in the morning conked out, but at least he wasn't asking why Harry and Ginny were looking to hole up in their room at 8:30 at night.

Harry went to the cupboard and retrieved the packets, slipping them in his pocket before heading back up the stairs where his wife was waiting for him in their bedroom.

"I believe you had plans for me Mr. Potter?" she asked him from their bed. Ginny had kicked the blanket off and was underneath the top sheet, it was clear by the impression of her body under the sheet that she wasn't wearing anything. Harry closed the door firmly behind him and threw up a locking and silencing spell.

He took in the sight of his wife laid out for him and went over to her coming to a stop at the corner of the bed and slowly pulled the top sheet down so that it was just her in all her glory before him. This was much better than some picture in a dirty magazine.

He flicked his wand over to the master bathroom they had and turned on the tap to fill the bathtub up with scalding hot water.

"We're doing it in the bath, are we?" she cocked an eyebrow at him. "First the shower, now the bathtub?"

"No," he shook his head, "that's for after."

Ginny's brow furrowed slightly in confusion and Harry pulled the small packets out of his pocket and placed them on the headboard. She got up on her knees and turned around to see what he had brought her.

"What?" she looked confused.

"You know how every now and then I tell you you're all I need for dessert?" he said quietly in her ear being sure to give her a small tug on her earlobe with his teeth.

Her expression dropped to one of wonder and a dark shadow of anticipation passed over her that was like a pulse through the room. He bent his head and gave her a kiss to her bare shoulder, moving his lips up to her neck inch by inch with each kiss. "I'm going to lick them off you," he whispered in her ear.

She swayed against him and gave a shiver of desire. "Really?" she breathed out in barely a whisper.

Harry grinned at her predatorily and took a step back from the bed then started to remove his clothes. "I'll let you decide where my mouth will be traveling." He pulled a chair over to the end of the bed and sat in it with only his boxers on watching and waiting for her to give him a show with this next part.

They'd gotten up to a few things in the bedroom, but this they had not done. Seeing the porn mag earlier had made him realize that it had been quite a while since they'd last gotten kinky in the bedroom. Each of their toys in the hidden drawer had been pulled out on occasion, but they weren't a new activity in the bedroom.

After over ten years the new activities were fewer and fewer.

Not having any down time during the day, like he'd had at the office, to dream up what position he'd like to take his wife in later meant that there were more nights of the less adventurous sex between them. He hadn't realized until it was him home during the day just how much needed to get done, particularly when there were four kids vying for his attention through the summer.

Since he'd been the one staying home he'd felt drained after putting the kids down to bed and certainly hadn't felt like he was anything Ginny should be desiring. She too was pushed to her limits at training and exhausted when she came home.

Their sex life was sure to be amazingly restored once the last little one was off to school and she was on the off season.

Right now though Ginny looked to be all for his proposed activity.

She was facing him on her knees in all her naked glory before him with a packet of raspberry jam in her hand. She could have used her other hand to open the packet, but instead she chose to use her teeth.

She was going to put on a show for him and that made it all the better.

Her finger ran through the jam and she swiped it across her chest nice and slow for him the strip she made outlining the pattern a bustier would make over her bosom with a nice deep V between her breasts. The slow swiping movement she made was finished off with a long suck of her finger and Harry felt himself stirring nicely between his legs.

He made no movement to join her on the bed, he simply sat back and let her continue on to the next packet.

Blueberry was her next choice, for her pattern she started her line of blueberry at the base of the V between her breast and trailed it down to her belly button. He hoped she'd keep working her way down and add a nice amount between her thighs for him to get off her. No doubt he'd be getting her off at least once while he was down there.

Each of the packets of jam and peanut butter were applied to her skin in a slow and sultry manner that had Harry adjusting in his seat for. This was the best show he'd seen in a long time, the anticipation had him smiling ridiculously.

Finally, she reached for the honey. Ginny was laying back against the pillows now as she opened up the honey packet. There were lines of jam and peanut butter all down her body, the honey packet though she didn't dip her finger in, she simply held it open and tipped it at an angle to let it fall over her freshly shaved mound between her legs.

"Your move, Potter," she said as she tossed the plastic container into the bin with the others and lay back with her arms out like the Goddess that she was.

He moved slowly from his chair. He wasn't going to just pounce on her, he wanted this to go slowly. Taking up his wand he called for the sparsely used straps they had purchased ages ago to rise up from the corners of the bed where he'd concealed them earlier and they wound around her wrists and ankles.

Ginny didn't gasp at the sudden gentle pulling of her limbs towards the four corners of the bed she just got a slight coloring that came to her cheeks and her mouth dropped open a fraction. Her eyes were lit up with even more desire and anticipation. From the angle Harry was looking at her he could see her swelling with want between her legs that were open before him and he loved it.

Reaching down he removed his boxers and crawled onto the bed.

"Blindfold?" he offered. It might heighten the experience for her.

She shook her head though. "I want to see this," she whispered.

It wasn't often that Harry had her panting in anticipation anymore. He liked this feeling it was giving him; one of power and craving. Too often now sex was simply part of the routine. He missed the days years ago when the two of them would look so forward to the weekend simply because it meant they could stay naked in bed together for a full 24 hours and explore each other's body.

He wanted to prolong this experience for as long as he could and remind her just how talented he was with his tongue.

Starting at her left knee he lowered his mouth to it just above the kneecap where the line of strawberry jam started and began working his way upwards. She quivered under his tongue and he reveled in feeling her squirm the higher up her thigh he got. He didn't go the whole way though. On her other leg she had trailed the peanut butter.

Strawberry jam and peanut butter were his favorite combination.

A small whimper escaped her mouth when she felt him at her right knee instead of continuing his way up her left. He grinned and looked up at her. Ginny's head was back against the pillows and her neck tilted upwards. She wasn't looking at him, she had her eyes closed and was just enjoying all of his attention.

Good.

As he cleaned up the peanut butter, he watched how her breathing deepened. The higher up her leg he went the more her breasts rose and fell in more pronounced movements. Once he was settled closer to the apex she was biting her lower lip and smiling.

The honey tasted quite good on her skin. It had dribbled down between her legs and gotten on the sheets below her. It didn't go down her folds though, the lines of it ran along the outside. He didn't just use his tongue to clean up the mess there, he used full open-mouthed kisses along either side of her entrance to clean her up there.

She was losing control of herself now. Her panting and rocking against his mouth was just spurring him on more. He loved it when she grew desperate for him to give her an orgasm. She wouldn't use words to ask him, instead she would plead with her whole body. Her hips rocked with every touch of his tongue and lips in an attempt to make them close over her little bud at her center.

The more he prolonged that meeting though the louder and more desperate she grew. He wanted that.

The trail of honey had all but disappeared from his actions and now he would give her what she wanted.

Attaching his mouth against her clit she cried out and arched her back off the bed whimpering and mewing her thanks. He'd become a master of what she liked when he had his mouth buried between her legs and it was not taking long for the familiar signs of her finish fast upon him. The frantic rocking of her hips in the same pattern, the feel of her leg muscles tightening against his arms. It was a good thing that he had placed the silencing spell around his room because she cried out loudly as she came undone under his tongue.

He continued lapping against her until she shuddered. Her shudder was the sign that the sensations had got to be too much.

That was okay, because he was craving something blueberry flavored now.

Ginny relaxed back against the mattress as he continued his way up her body with his tongue. She'd dotted her nipples with the blueberry jam as well. Before he could make his way to the raspberry that she had topping her body off he was lined up nicely between her legs.

Slowly he slid himself inside her as he took her nipples one by one into his mouth and gave them a nice cleaning off. He dipped himself inside her and pulled back all the way several times. That first feeling of pushing into her always felt so amazing that he just wanted to recreate the sensation over and over again.

He had another task to complete before he could begin that adventure fully though.

On to the raspberry.

He pulled out completely and dropped down her body once more just enough that he didn't need to crane his neck in a funny position to get all the raspberry jam off of her.

Her arms were still being held out to the sides of the bed otherwise she surely would have wound them into his hair as she was known to do when he nuzzled his face into her cleavage.

How this woman had managed to give him three children and still keep her figure he was amazed with. Her hips were a bit bigger as were her breasts but she had managed to bounce back almost entirely to how she'd been when she was twenty. He liked to think she'd worked hard at it to keep up his interest, though the thought that he could ever not find her appealing was laughable.

All the raspberry jam cleaned up he met her lips and slid inside her once more.

"Legs, please," she begged.

He grinned ferally against her mouth as he continued to thrust inside her. He knew exactly what she was going to do if he released her legs; they were going to wrap around his own and she was going to take control of the rhythm.

But he was in charge.

And it was going to stay that way.

He couldn't claim her orgasms for himself if he let her do all the work. He couldn't claim he knew her body just as well as she did if he wasn't able to bring her to her climax without her assistance.

So he kept her legs tied up.

She'd just had an intense orgasm and from the way she was struggling to grind against him when he was fully sheathed inside her he knew she was fairly close to another one.

He wasn't ready for her to have another one just yet.

He kept up the rhythm he wanted. Hard and steady, building his own finish as her tight hot walls pulsed around him. He rocked into her as hard as he wanted to while she whimpered in want and pleasure.

Just as he was in the home stretch, where he could continue at his pace and explode inside her within the minute, he switched tactics and ground against her. He rocked hard against her clit and moved his mouth to her ear. Something about him nipping at her there set Ginny through the roof when she was really horny and looking for her finish.

As she panted and groaned in his own ear he kept trying to push his finish away but it was right there, waiting and ready.

Ginny finally snapped and came, just in time for the tightening of her to set him off as well.

They came together. For him that was a true sign of victory.

They rode out their own finishes with lazy circles of hips and soft kisses between deep gulping breaths.

As their heartbeats began to slow down he moved down her body a bit until he slipped back out of her and rested his head on her chest for another moment.

He felt her fiddling with one of her wrist restraints and gave a chuckle before releasing all the straps. He slipped out of the bed and picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the bathtub.

"I am a big fan of tonight's activities," Ginny murmured as she sunk into the bath and moved forwards just enough for him to climb in behind her.

"As am I," he sighed leaning back against porcelain.

"What spurred that on?" she asked, grabbing the soap to lazily clean up the sticky mess from the condiments.

"I have a really hot wife," was all the explanation he offered, too satiated to think of anything else.

"Hmm," she hummed. "And I have a very well-trained house-husband."

Together they worked the soap lather over both of their bodies before climbing out and getting ready for bed.

**()()()**

**Promoting the collaborative works with Deadwoodpecker, K. , TheWordsInMyHead, Smeyers and Arden Wiles with big help from Antosha;**

**Into The Mystic is available through Amazon, in paperback and kindle.**

**Soon to be released is our next collaborative work; Into the Forest- Six fantastical fairytales- retellings, reimaginings, remixing that will amuse, delight and entrance.**


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